By announcing a speech on Thursday and a trip to the contentious US-Mexico border expected the following week, President Joe Biden suggested that he has finally made up his mind to address the politically sensitive problem of illegal immigration.
“I’m going to be making a speech tomorrow on border security,” he told reporters Wednesday at the White House.
In addition to the address, Biden said earlier that for the first time since taking office two years ago he will visit the border, probably on the sidelines of an already planned trip to Mexico next week.
“That’s my intention. We’re working out the details now,” Biden said during a visit to Kentucky.
On the more than 1,900-mile (3,057-kilometer) long border, it was unclear where he would head right away. Along with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts, Biden will be flying to Mexico City on Monday for a summit of North American leaders.
The Biden administration frequently gave the impression that it wanted to steer clear of the extraordinarily complicated problem that previous presidents were unable to tackle.
The employment of foreign workers is vital to the US economy. However, unchecked migration along the length of the Mexico border, which includes a sizable population of asylum seekers as well as unauthorized immigrants who slip across hazardous terrain, has put the system beyond its point of repair.
Even members of the Biden administration mention a “broken” immigration system.
