Biden seeks Trump help to pass border bill
JOE BIDEN last night urged Donald Trump to help him pass his border security package, as his rival blamed him for the deaths of “countless innocent victims”.
The president, speaking at the same time as Mr Trump during separate visits to the Texan southern border, warned of the dangers of unchecked illegal immigration and called on Republicans to “show a little spine” and support his proposals.
“We can do it together. You know, and I know it’s the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this country has ever seen,” he said.
“So instead of playing politics with the issue, why don’t we just get together and get it done?”
Mr Biden’s bill, which would increase staff and resources on the southern border with Mexico, has been blocked by Republicans in Congress under pressure from Mr Trump. The Republican presidential hopeful, who made his own visit to the border city of Eagle Pass, 300 miles north of Mr Biden’s speech in Brownsville, blamed the president for the deaths of migrants crossing the Rio Grande and pledged to instate a border wall if he wins back the White House in November.
He said “horrible, crooked Joe” was responsible for the “blood of countless innocent victims”, adding: “Three years ago we had the most secure border in history.”
The rival speeches by the presumptive presidential nominees came as Mr Biden succeeded in blocking a Texas law that would allow police to arrest illegal migrants on the border.
A federal court yesterday sided with the government after Mr Biden’s administration argued that allowing state police to enforce border security was a violation of the US Constitution.
The ruling will likely be appealed at the Supreme Court by Greg Abbott, the Republican Texas governor, who is locked in several legal battles with Mr Biden over his border security measures. Mr Abbott had argued that state police should be allowed to arrest people suspected of entering the US illegally by crossing the Rio Grande into Texas from Mexico.
However, Judge David Ezra of the Western District of Texas said the law “slaps the federal immigration law in the face” by violating the federal government’s exclusive right to enforce border security. Campaigners argue the law would also make it harder for refugees to seek asylum in the US.
Immigration is expected to be one of the biggest issues in this year’s election, with both Mr Biden and Mr Trump’s border visits scheduled ahead of the state’s primary on March 5.
The increased focus on border security comes after the alleged killing of a US nursing student on a Georgia university campus by an undocumented migrant from Venezuela turbo-charged the already fractious row on the issue.
Mr Trump said Laken Riley, 22, had been killed by an “illegal alien migrant who was led into our country and released into our communities by crooked Joe Biden”.