Donald Trump Visits US-Mexico Border with Gov. Greg Abbott

Former President Donald Trump is visiting Texas on Wednesday to tour parts of the U.S.-Mexico border, where Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to build a border wall

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday visited the U.S.-Mexico border for the first time since leaving office and accused Democrats of running a “disinformation campaign” around their border policies.

Trump’s visit comes as Republicans continue to hammer President Joe Biden’s administration for an increase in apprehensions at the border. There were 180,034 apprehensions last month at the U.S.-Mexico border, and 40% of those turned back had previously crossed. That’s compared to fewer than 25,000 in late 2020, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. During the Trump administration, the highest recorded number of monthly apprehensions was nearly 150,000.

“They’re getting killed by the border so now they’re saying, ‘Oh, we’ve got a problem, so let’s blame the Sheriff’s, let’s blame the governors, let’s blame everybody else but them,” Trump said, describing Democrats’ messaging of late as a “disinformation campaign.”

The former president’s visit to the Texas side of the border comes as Republicans continue to attack Democrats and President Joe Biden’s administration on border security and the increase in Border Patrol apprehensions in recent months. According to the most recent data provided by the Customs and Border Protection, more than 180,000 people were arrested after illegally crossing the border in May 2020.

Governor Abbott, who is seen as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, spent much of the first half of the year railing against what he calls Biden’s “open border policies” and criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris for not visiting the Texas border. When Harris visited El Paso last week, Abbott said she was “ignoring the real problem” by not visiting the Rio Grande Valley where much of the increase in apprehensions has occurred.

CTM News

30 June 2021