President Joe Biden says he âshouldâ visit the U.S.-Mexico border, but has not had a lot of time to do so since taking office in January.
During a CNN town hall event on Thursday night, Biden said, âI guess I should go down, but the whole point of it is I havenât had a whole hell of a lot of time to get down. Iâve been spending time going around looking at the $900 billion damage done by hurricanes and floods and weather and traveling around the world.â
âMy wife Jill has been down. Sheâs been on both sides of the river. Sheâs seen the circumstances there. Sheâs looked into those places,â he added.
However, some social media users were quick to point out that the president has frequently made trips to his home state of Delaware:
https://twitter.com/NathanBrandWA/status/1451362242734211079
Bidenâs comments come amid an ongoing surge of migration at the southern border. The Washington Post reports that in the 2021 fiscal year, which ended in September, the number of migrants arrested while trying to cross the border hit the highest level ever recorded.
In September, Fox Newsâ Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, âHas President Biden ever been to the southern border?â
âIn his life? I will have to look back in my history books and check the times heâs been to the southern border,â Psaki responded.
Doocy noted, âWe have been looking all morning, and we cannot find any record of him visiting the border as president, vice president, senator, or even as a concerned citizen.â
He asked, âWhy would that be?â
Psaki said she will check âwhen he may have beenâ to the border and asked why Doocy wanted to know.
He explained that Biden regularly âmakes a pointâ after a natural disaster to visit the communities impacted to learn what the needs are so he can make informed decisions. He asked, âWhy doesnât he go down to Del Rio, Texas, and see whatâs going on?â
Psaki said the situation at the border is the result of a âbroken systemâ and that Biden ârelies on his experienceâ in trying to address the root causes of Immigration and support Immigration reform.
âSo all of his experiences and his time in office, whether vice president or Senate, inform his approach to issues,â she added.
