Photo: Michael Gonzalez / Getty Images News / Getty Images
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will both visit the southern border between the United States and Mexico on Thursday (February 29).
President Biden will meet with Border Patrol agents, law enforcement officials, and local leaders in Brownsville, Texas, and call on Congress to pass a border security legislation.
"He will reiterate his calls for congressional Republicans to stop playing politics and to provide the funding needed for additional U.S. Border Patrol agents, more asylum officers, fentanyl detection technology, and more," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Meanwhile, 325 miles away, Trump, the current leader in the Republican presidential primary, will be speaking in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Eagle Pass has been the center of a fight between Texas and the federal government. The Texas National Guard deployed troops to Shelby Park and blocked federal agents from entering the area. They set up shipping containers and erected razor wire to prevent migrants from illegally crossing the border.
The Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to step in and order Texas to allow Border Patrol agents access to the area.
In addition, Texas passed a law that would allow local officials to arrest migrants who are illegally in the country. Several groups sued to block the law, which is set to take effect on March 5. The case is currently in the hands of U.S. District Judge David Ezra, who is expected to make a ruling in the coming week.