President Joe Biden is traveling to Arizona, but one stop not on the itinerary is the U.S.-Mexico border.
As he left the White House on Tuesday, the president was asked by Fox News’ Peter Doocy why he was not planning to visit the border during his trip.
“Because there are more important things going on. They’re going to invest billions of dollars in a new enterprise,” Biden responded.
Watch the video below:
DOOCY TIME: Why "not visit the border" while in Arizona today?
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 6, 2022
Biden: "Because there are more important things going on. They’re going to invest billions of dollars in a new enterprise." pic.twitter.com/Srp7dILEx0
Biden is going to Arizona to visit the building site of a new semiconductor factory and tout his policies.
And it seems as though it would be fairly easy to stop down at the border while he’s there.
Though to be fair, this is not 1835. There are cameras and technology that would allow a president to meet with Border Patrol officials to see the situation at the border without actually going there.
They could probably even give him a VR headset so he feels like he’s at the border if they wanted to.
But presidential trips convey a message that something is important to the president and the administration.
And Biden has not visited the border since taking office in January 2021.
In that time, the U.S. has seen a surge in illegal border crossings. In the 2022 fiscal year, there were 2.76 million crossings — blowing past the previous high by more than a million.
And the administration’s apparently cavalier attitude toward the border while failing to get the situation under control really does give off the impression it is not that big of a concern to them.
When Vice President Kamala Harris was confronted about not visiting the border in June 2021, she responded, “And I haven’t been to Europe. I mean, I don’t understand the point that you’re making.”
HARRIS: "We’ve been to the border. So this whole thing about the border."
— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) June 8, 2021
Harris: "We’ve been to the border."
Harris: "We’ve been to the border."
HOLT: "You haven’t been to the border."
Harris: "I… and I haven’t been to Europe." https://t.co/dftSFsU88F pic.twitter.com/Q6pIdXQqPs
Perhaps, given the results of the midterm elections, Biden believes the immigration issue is not really a potent one and he can survive the criticism of his handling of the border and avoid wading into an immigration reform fight. Or perhaps he does not see an issue with millions of people illegally crossing the border.
But even his Homeland Security secretary has admitted the situation is “unsustainable.” And it is not compassionate for the migrants or residents of border towns to let the current situation continue.