President Joe Biden is taking heat from the Border Patrol union over his visit to El Paso, Texas. The president is making his first appearance at the border on Sunday.
The news comes on the heels of local and state authorities clamping down on migrants and encampments, according to reports.
"El Paso being cleaned up as if nothing unusual ever happened there. Just in time for Biden's 'visit to the border,'" tweeted the National Border Patrol Council. "We suggest just landing in Des Moines, Iowa and telling him it's El Paso. He'll never know the difference."
Reports by El Paso Matters and the New York Post indicated that Border Patrol and local law enforcement escalated detentions just ahead of the president's visit.
According to the Post, six buses with primarily Venezuelan migrants departed from El Paso for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday. A Border Patrol agent told the Post that 200 migrants were sent back to Mexico just on Saturday.
A video by NBC News revealed Border Patrol agents patrolling outside Sacred Heart Church, a migrant shelter where hundreds of migrants took to camp.
"El Paso clears downtown of expansive migrant camps ahead of Biden visit," tweeted former Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas. "Why not show him what our border community and law enforcement officials are dealing with on a daily basis."
National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd expressed to Fox News Digital that agents are "beyond frustrated" over the Biden administration's lack of support at the border.
Judd said the only real reason for Biden's visit is because Democrats like New York Mayor Eric Adams and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis are upset.
The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital that CBP uses a "layered approach that included patrolling the border itself, nearby areas and neighborhoods and conducting checkpoints — both stationary and temporary."
"In response to migrants evading apprehension in the El Paso area, the United States Border Patrol has increased the number of agents patrolling the area," a DHS spokesperson said to Fox News Digital. "The number of migrants encountered in El Paso is down 70% since mid-December, which might be a factor."
Before he visited the border, Biden announced an expansion to the humanitarian parole program for Venezuelan nationals to include Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans. It will permit 30,000 individuals a month from all four countries to be paroled into the U.S. for two years. They are required to have a financial sponsor, among other conditions. People who have attempted to enter illegally are rendered ineligible for the program.
The Biden administration will also increase the use of an alternative removal process: expedited removal. It would be used for those who don't claim asylum and cannot be deported under Title 42.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.