Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump will visit the Mexican border in Texas on Thursday as immigration emerges as a hot campaign issue for the two potential rivals in November’s presidential election, AFP reported.

Texas authorities have erected barbed wire fences along the border to stem the tide of migrantsPhoto: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

The Democratic president, who is urging Republican lawmakers to pass an immigration bill, will travel to Brownsville to meet with police and local officials, the White House announced Monday.

He will “discuss the urgent need to pass” the bipartisan immigration bill “which is the toughest and fairest set of border security reforms in decades,” a US official said. White House.

Joe Biden will “reiterate his call to Republicans in Congress to stop playing politics and provide the necessary funding” to strengthen border controls, the official added.

Donald Trump, for his part, will go to Eagle Pass, almost 500 km from Brownsville.

The former president engaged in brutal rhetoric against migrants and the government, refusing to make any concessions to the latter.

“Violent gangs and gang members pouring into our country from South America and all over the world … pouring into our good old America by the tens of thousands,” the Republican said on social media, adding: “Biden will never be able to get this under control “.

A spokesman for Donald Trump said the fact that “Biden is following us to the border on the same day shows how big a deal this is to him.”

The Republican camp accuses Joe Biden and his administration of worsening the flow of migrants through his asylum policy. The White House insists the Republican Party is deliberately sabotaging any attempts at compromise on the issue.

The state of Texas has been embroiled in an ongoing conflict with Joe Biden’s administration in recent weeks, with its Republican governor, Greg Abbott, a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, accusing the government of allowing an “invasion” of illegal immigrants into the country. the southern border of the country.

In the United States, border control is a federal responsibility, but Texas has stepped up its crackdown on immigration, and several lawsuits are pending.