Political experts share remarks on upcoming Biden visit

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — President Joe Biden is expected to visit the Valley on Thursday.

Biden along with his administration will be in Brownsville to meet with top border officials and challenge Congress when it comes to taking action with border security.

Residents can expect heavy traffic, road delays and even protests.

All eyes will be on the City of Brownsville as the bipartisan border security agreement Biden has been trying to bring forth.

However, this comes with some pushback.

“I think a big part of this trip is to basically highlight the problem and say Congress needs to act to address this,” Brett Samuels, White House reporter with The Hill said.

According to White House officials, President Biden will meet with Border Patrol agents along with local leaders.

His goal will be to call on congressional Republicans to take up a bipartisan agreement put forth by the Senate, a border issue that has been happening for quite some time.

“The situation at the border has been sort of a long running issue for President Biden and the white house,” Samuels said.

“I think it is unfortunate that more people aren’t really up to date on what actually is happening at the border,” UTRGV political science faculty member Robert Velez said.

Velez says Biden’s visit could lead more people to the polls for both parties.

“It’s possible that with a presidential visit this close to our primary that it would boost turn out, it could boost turn out for either democrats or republicans or maybe even both,” Velez said.

South Texas politicians are chiming in on Biden’s visit. In a statement, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said the following:

“I am pleased to see that President Biden will visit Brownsville on Thursday. It will be good for the president to hear directly from border communities as we continue to deal with the ongoing situation at our southern border.”

Also, in a statement, Republican Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz said the following:

“Though nothing will ever repair the damage he has inflicted on our country, we expect the president to deliver a clear and actionable plan to rectify the harm he has caused.”

“You know this is something that I think a lot of voters, polling is shown, voters rate immigration and border security at or near the top of sort of their issue list heading into November so this is definitely something that the white house is aware,” Samuels said.

“I believe everyone has a role whether it’s in voting, or in doing the heavy lifting of democracy which occurs between elections that is going to events like this one making your voice heard reaching out to your elected officials holding their feet to the fire, keeping them accountable,” Velez said.

Political experts say many may blame the Biden administration for the massive amount of apprehensions at the border.

However, Border Report has reported that encounters were down by 50% in the last month.