(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is set to make remarks as he visits the southern border of Texas Thursday afternoon.
Immigration has taken center stage in the political world as the 2024 election looms and border officials report record migrant encounters. According to the Border Patrol chief, there have been more than 120,000 “gotaways” tracked since the fiscal year started on Oct. 1.
Brownsville, where Biden was Thursday, has been described as the exception to issues currently seen on the border. Once one of the busiest areas, Brownsville has recently seen a sharp drop in illegal crossings.
It’s a stark contrast to the Eagle Pass area about 300 miles away, where former President Donald Trump, the GOP’s 2024 front-runner for the general election, was at Thursday.
While the Eagle Pass sector saw close to 600 migrant encounters Monday, Brownsville had zero that same day.
This trip marks Biden’s second to the U.S.-Mexico border as commander-in-chief.
President Biden has faced continued criticism from Republicans for his border policies, though he’s pushed back on them. In his remarks Thursday, Biden is expected to hit back at the GOP and urge lawmakers to sign a bipartisan border deal that was blocked by Senate Republicans earlier this month.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.