LAREDO, Texas—Former President Donald Trump is coming to Eagle Pass, a Texas border town of about 30,000 residents that has been inundated by illegal immigrants coming from Mexico. The former president’s visit on Thursday will draw even more attention to a town that has become a flashpoint in federal and state authorities’ tug-of-war over border enforcement.
Meanwhile, on the same day, President Joe Biden will give remarks in Brownsville, about 300 miles away from Eagle Pass. That border town at Texas’s southern tip, home to about 200,000 people, has seen a decline in illegal border crossings in recent months.
The visits highlight the immigration crisis as a key issue in the 2024 presidential race, expected to be a rematch between the former president and the incumbent. Their southern border trips come in the wake of record-breaking surges in illegal immigration—a problem that is overwhelming communities and government agencies in various cities nationwide.Agents have arrested more than 2 million illegal border-crossers during each of the past two years; in contrast, that number stayed below 1 million per year throughout President Trump’s term in office.
