Trump expected to visit the Valley today
Lame-duck president heading to Valley town named after famed mission to inspect wall
Workers pick produce in a field by the border wall near the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge in Hidalgo County, top, on Monday as work continues on the border wall east of the Pharr-reynosa International Bridge, above. President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit the area Tuesday. It will be his first public appearance since Jan. 6, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol.
President Donald Trump plans to visit Alamo today.
The trip to the Rio Grande Valley town, intended to highlight his administration’s work on the border wall, comes with just over a week remaining in Trump’s presidency.
“President Trump is expected to travel to Alamo, Texas, on Tuesday to mark the completion of more than 400 miles of border wall — a promise made, promise kept — and his administration’s efforts to reform our broken immigration system,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said.
The small town of Alamo was named after the famed mission 240 miles north in San Antonio.
On social media, the planned trip drew comparisons to the November news conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping in Philadelphia — which led to speculation that Trump’s campaign meant to book the luxury Four Seasons Hotel instead — and Alamo Rent a Car jokes.
Others thought the destination was much more intentional.
“Trump’s decision to travel to Alamo — named after the San Antonio mission where a small group of Texans fighting for independence against the Mexican government were defeated after a 13-day siege — served as a symbol of his defiance as he faces the most volatile end of any presidency in modern history,” the Associated Press wrote.
Today’s trip will mark Trump’s 18th stop in Texas since he took office in 2017. Several of those, plus a 2015 campaign trip to Laredo, have been to the border.
More than 400 miles of border wall have been completed during Trump’s time in office. However, only 30 miles are in new areas, according to a Customs and Border Protection report obtained by the Express-news.
Most of the construction has replaced older fencing and vehicle barriers, largely from the El Paso area west to California.
The Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, located in Alamo, was protected from border wall construction in 2019 after local protests.