Biden’s First Border Visit Comes at Political Inflection Point

President Joe Biden made his first visit as president to the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday with the stated goal of better understanding the border crisis, and gaining bipartisan support.

The Details: Biden reportedly spoke with Border Control personnel regarding illegal drug and human trafficking, and also met with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). On Monday, Biden will meet with President Andres Manuel López Obrador of Mexico and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada in Mexico City to discuss immigration issues.

For Context: The visit comes at an inflection point in Biden’s term as the Republicans have shored up control of Congress, which the White House has stated is responsible for fixing the “broken system” at the border. Recent polling shows only 40% of voters approve of the administration’s handling of immigration. El Paso is among the border communities that have declared states of emergency over an influx of unauthorized migrants.

How The Media Covered It: Across the spectrum, voices agree that there is a crisis at the border, and that the Biden administration’s handling of it to this point demonstrates a political weakness for Democrats. Some left-rated outlets like Time and CNN (Left Bias) emphasized the obstacles to immigration presented by Title 42. Some right-rated sources like Washington Examiner and Fox News (Right Bias) elevated pleas made by Republicans to solve the crisis.