Biden and Trump visit US-Mexico border, live: News, pictures and reactions

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden’s visit to the southern border today is “not about politics” and that the president will travel to Brownsville, Texas, to hear directly from Border Patrol agents and border personnel.

Biden has faced heavy criticism over his handling of illegal immigration as record numbers of migrants cross the US southern border. Her potential opponent in the November general election, former President Donald Trump, has made illegal immigration a key element of his campaign and will visit Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday.

“This is not about politics for the president. This is about the American people. The American people will hear today directly from President Biden about what he has done to move forward to address this issue and how Republicans standing in the way “Jean-Pierre said on “CNN News Central.”

Jean-Pierre said Biden will “listen to the people who are being directly affected by this day in and day out.”

“Again, this is not about politics; this is about coming together in a bipartisan way to address an issue that concerns the majority of Americans. And that’s a failed immigration system that’s been broken for decades.” And we will deal with the border challenges we are seeing,” Jean-Pierre said, while Republicans stand in the way of the administration’s desired actions to address the immigration crisis.