President Biden needs to visit the U.S. southern border to get a first-hand understanding of the ongoing migration issues facing small border towns, Texas residents told Fox News.
“Biden should come and visit the border and take a look at the problem,” said Oralia, who works at a general goods store next to the border.
Cesar, who works in a shop a few hundred feet from the border, also said Biden needs to witness problems at the border himself.
“Biden doesn’t care for the south border,” he said. “I think [former President] Trump has come more.”
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Biden has not made a trip to the U.S. southern border since taking office in 2021, despite record illegal crossings. Vice President Kamala Harris has only visited once since Biden tapped her to head White House efforts to stem mass migration. Trump went to the border seven times during his tenure, including three trips to Texas sectors.
Harris recently declared that the the borer was “secure.” Eagle Pass residents have told Fox News that they feel unsafe after migrants trashed ranches, killed pets and stole from businesses.
“I would like to see Joe Biden here in the border so he can see the problem himself, which is a big problem,” said Laura Ramos, who runs a store near one of Eagle Pass’ three official border crossings. She said she had to train her children to defend themselves and the family business with weapons due to the ongoing migration crisis her town is facing.
“I blame the president” for the ongoing migration issues facing Eagle Pass, Laura said.
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Cesar said that Biden should require immigrants to enter the U.S. through legal paths.
“If Biden is going to let people go in the USA, do it the right way, not just letting all people go,” Cesar told Fox News. “It’s getting out of control every day.”
Since Biden entered office, nearly 3 million migrants have been encountered crossing into the U.S, according to Customs and Border Protection. By comparison, there were nearly 2.4 million encounters at the southern border from October 2015 through September 2020, which covers the majority of Trump’s tenure, as well as a few months before he took office.
“Anybody that is in a position to make changes should be taking a first-hand glance of everything that’s going on,” Juan, who grew up in Eagle Pass, told Fox News.
Griselda agreed: “I do think the president, Congress, anybody that’s in the position to make decisions should come and see it first-hand.”
Rosie told Fox News that the federal government needs to intervene at the border.
“This has got to be more than just the state,” Rosie said. “This, I think, has got to come from the federal government.”
However, if Biden does visit the border, he should do so in a “low-key” way so that he can see what locals experience, Rosie continued.
“If they come down here, which I think they should, they can take a look at everything that goes down here,” Armando told Fox News. “But I think, personally, I know it won’t happen.”
Biden should “go around asking local business and stuff like that,” Armando continued. “They’ll be able to tell you how they’ve been impacted … how they don’t feel safe now living in the neighborhoods that were safe before.”
Ricardo, a local food truck owner, said “the president, should be here.”
“We see it under the bridge, a lot of people there,” Ricardo continued. “Those people are suffering.”