Trump says he will visit US-Mexico border this month
Greg Abbott announced last week that Texas will build a border wall on its own
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Your support makes all the difference.Former US President Donald Trump has announced that he will visit the US-Mexico border in Texas later this month as Republicans attempt to corner President Biden on handling the immigration issue.
Mr Trump said he would join Texas governor Greg Abbott for a tour of the border, but the exact location of the visit was not clear.
"The Biden Administration inherited from me the strongest, safest, and most secure border in US history and in mere weeks they turned it into the single worst border crisis in US history. It’s an unmitigated disaster zone," said Mr Trump in a statement.
The announcement came within days of Mr Abbott announcing at a “border security summit” in Del Rio that Texas will build a wall on its own. Mr Abbott slammed the Biden administration’s “open border policies.”
The former president said that what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris “have done, and are continuing to do on our border, is a grave and wilful dereliction of duty.”
“We went from having border security that was the envy of the world to a lawless border that is now pitied around the world. Our nation is now one giant sanctuary city where even dangerous criminals are being cut loose and set free inside the US interior on a daily basis,” he said.
Mr Trump said his visit will hopefully “shine a spotlight on these crimes against our nation, and show the incredible people of ICE and Border Patrol that they have our unshakeable support.”
Mr Abott, a Republican, had announced under the enhanced border security plan the formation of a task force, approval of $1bn (£700m) in funding for border security, and building border barriers. He had also urged other states in the US to join the effort.
The issue of immigration is among the most polarising ones in US politics currently. It was one of the main rallying points during the Trump administration. It continues to remain a crucial one under President Biden.
Soon after becoming the US president in January, Mr Biden had reversed several of Trump administration policies regarding immigration and borders. However, his decisions have been severely criticised by the Republicans, who blame him for mishandling the issue leading to a surge in the number of migrants at the US-Mexico border.
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