Biden Has No Plans to Visit US Southern Border

President Joe Biden has no plans to visit the US southern border even as a migrant crisis is raging. Asked by White House reporters Tuesday on whether he made any plans to travel to the south to oversee the migrant problem, he only said “Not at the moment.” 

RELATED: Pelosi Blames Trump For Border Crisis

Republican Lawmakers Travel to the US Southern Border

A group of GOP lawmakers traveled to the southwest border on Monday to observe the situation firsthand. The group of 13 House Republicans is led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. “He needs to come to this border, look what has happened, at what he's created, and change it,” McCarthy said in a Fox News interview. “It's worse than a crisis. I thought I would see a crisis, but this is really a human heartbreak,” he said.

In addition, two other groups will travel there later this month. McCarthy urged Biden to come to see the situation up close.  Republican Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn will lead a Senate delegation to tour the border on March 26. Meanwhile, Texas Republican Representatives Jodey Arrington and Brian Babin will lead a 15-member Congressional team at the border from March 29-31. 

Migrant Housing Crisis

The United States is currently experiencing a migrant surge as thousands approach the borders in the hopes of getting passage. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday described the border situation as difficult. Like other Democrats, Mayorkas refused to term the situation a crisis.  

During the past month, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported it encountered more than 100,000 migrants at the border. Meanwhile, the number of child migrants in custody also increased dramatically. Before, the Biden administration castigated the Trump White House for incarcerating migrant children. Now, they are moving to increase the capacities of facilities that house migrants. Aside from building extra facilities, they are now looking at military and NASA sites to accommodate migrants. Last Saturday, Mayorkas announced he asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support a “government-wide effort” to house child migrants. 

Numbers Not See in Decades

Earlier this week, Mayorkas said the country hasn’t seen high numbers of migrants for decades. “We are on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years,” he said. Later, the Homeland secretary said the situation is nothing new, and that the US faced border spikes before.  

This time, things are a bit different. The border surge includes a drastic increase in the number of unaccompanied migrants. Some of these migrants met with McCarthy. “We have our brand-new facility to care for these children and they built it beyond capacity, thinking they would never reach it. Today, they just set the anniversary that they broke capacity, more than 1,040 children, and it's only growing every day. What that means is 120 of these border agents, that are doing an extraordinary job in unbelievable times, can't be on the border protecting us,” the California Republican said. 

It’s Biden’s Fault

The GOP blames Biden for the sudden influx of migrants. They said the President is to blame after he rolled back a number of Trump’s migrant policies he found inhumane. These include the “Remain-in-Mexico” policy that restricts US access for those with pending asylum cases. Instead, the Biden administration reinstated the “catch and release” program. This allows migrants to stay in the US while the case awaits a hearing. In addition, Biden announced a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants.

The seemingly relaxed approach to migration gave thousands of migrants the idea that the US border opened up. Many migrants headed toward the US believing they have a better shot now than they did during the previous administration.

Watch the CBS News report where President Joe Biden says he has no plans to travel to the U.S.-Mexico border amid the border crisis:

 Loading ...

Do you agree that Biden should visit the border to see what’s going on there? Do you see a way out of the migrant crisis happening at the border? Let us know what you think. Share your opinions below in the comment section!