Trump to visit unfinished US-Mexico border wall amidst immigrant influx

Former American President Donald Trump will visit the southern state of Texas to tour the “unfinished border wall” between the US and Mexico later on Wednesday. He will be joined by the state’s governor and fellow GOP member Greg Abbott, who has previously pledged to finish his much-vaunted 1000 miles long bulwark. It is imperative to note that this marks Trump’s second public appearance in a week and being deemed as his attempt to regain the spotlight amidst the dramatic influx of illegal immigrants in the country.  

In the recent weeks, Trump, backed by Republicans, has blatantly taken aim at Biden for making America’s southern border porous for immigrants. Last Saturday, the former President pilloried Biden at an Ohio rally accusing him of having "dismantled America's border defences and incited a flood of illegal immigrants like this country has never seen."

Soon after taking office, Biden vowed to mitigate the harshness meted out to immigrants and asylum seekers from Central America and opted of a more “humane poly”. In February, he rescinded funding for the US-Mexico border wall, one of the most ambitious projects of his predecessor Donald Trump. Additionally, he also ended a program that forced tens of thousands of immigrants to wait in Mexico pending resolution of their US asylum cases. But, Republicans have denounced these policies blaming them for the surge in migration to America.

Highest immigrant detentions 

Migrant apprehensions at the US- Mexico border have doubled as the southwestern border continues to face the biggest immigrant influx in 20 years, the White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a news conference. Nearly 10,000 troops have been deployed by Mexico, witnessing a drastic surge of immigrants, including the unaccompanied children attempting to cross the border alone. Troops, deployed by three countries Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala in bilateral agreements with the Biden administration, have increased apprehensions and return levels of immigrants trying to enter the United States, the White House Press secretary told reporters. When asked about what the Biden administration’s plan entails, she said, that the three countries entered into discussions to commit “to increase the border security”. 

Image: AP