Donald Trump and Joe Biden promise tough action on immigration in rival Texas visits
At two Texas border towns both President Biden and former President Trump made duelling visits.
They were 300 miles apart but with an identical aim, to eke out political advantage from the immigration crisis which will be one of the defining issues of the 2024 election.
The Biden administration has presided over a record number of border crossings, a surge which Republicans have used to characterise the president as being weak on the issue.
In Brownsville, Texas, a town which historically has large influxes of migrants, Mr Biden made only his second visit to the border, but this time promised change.
“It’s real simple. It’s time to act, it’s long past time to act,” he said.
President Biden visited Brownsville, Texas. Pic: Reuters
He also accused Mr Trump of political point-scoring after a bipartisan bill, which would have resulted in a crackdown on the border, was thwarted by Republicans who were being egged on by the former president.
“You know and I know it’s the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this country’s ever seen,” he said.
“So instead of playing politics with the issue, why don’t we just get together and get it done?”
A section of the border fence in Texas
Immigration is a happier hunting ground for Mr Trump. His rhetoric on the issue has become more extreme in recent months, notably when he said immigrants were “poisoning the blood” of America.
But it only seems to have enlivened his base, with the polls suggesting his advantage over President Biden on immigration is growing.
Speaking from Eagle Pass, Texas, with the backdrop of a razor wire fence, Mr Trump seized on the flashpoint of the murder of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student killed in Georgia.
The man charged with her murder is a Venezuelan migrant, previously arrested for crossing the border illegally in 2022 and then released, before being arrested in New York and released again.
Donald Trump said the US is ‘being overrun by the Biden migrant crime’
“The United States is being overrun by the Biden migrant crime,” he said. “Migrant crime is a new form of vicious violation to our country.”
Mr Trump’s words are reverberating in other border cities, too.
In the remote town of Jacumba Hot Springs, California, where migrants often cross the border, I meet a group of a dozen veterans outside a casino.
They are part of an organised convoy heading to the border to, they say, shore up defences.
A group of veterans were heading to the border to bolster defences
I ride along with Derrek Cardinale, a former marine and estate agent, in his white pickup truck. The conversation quickly turns to immigration and the terror threat.
“It only takes one to cause another 9/11 or another October 7th in Israel,” he says.
“I have four kids, and seeing this young girl Laken Riley recently being murdered by a Venezuelan who is here illegally. My wife travels with my four kids and she doesn’t have the training that I do to be aware all the time, so it definitely worries me.”
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The group has put in razor wire to plug holes in border defences
When we get to the border wall separating Mexico and the United States, where the 30ft-tall fence ends, the group have bundled out razor wire on top of boulders where migrants might scramble.
“What happens if a person gets caught on it?” I ask.
“Well it definitely hurts,” one woman replies. “It’s about making sure it’s painful enough that they at least can’t come in this way.”
‘It’s ugly, it’s dangerous’
For the migrants who do make it through, their first few hours in the United States often involves sitting on pavements in downtown areas outside detention centres, waiting for buses, first to transport hubs and then to the airport.
Waiting on a pavement in central San Diego I find Maria, a 21-year-old from Ecuador.
Maria is fleeing chaos and violence in Ecuador
She says it has taken her a month and 12 days to get to the US after fleeing gang violence in her home country.
“The situation in Ecuador, it’s ugly, it’s dangerous,” she says. “We came over here for a better future, to support our family and to stay for a while.”
Many of the migrants wear tracking devices placed on them by border control services, to monitor them while their asylum claims are processed.
Immigration is not just a potent political issue in border cities, many of the migrants are heading to destinations across the US, including Miami, Chicago and New York.
Greg said anyone could do better on immigration than Mr Biden
At San Diego’s marina, locals and tourists watch the sunset. Laurie and Tom, from Denver, Colorado, say the immigration system in their city can’t cope.
“We can only handle so many people,” says Laurie.
“We only have the resources for so many and allow people just to keep coming in and coming, and something’s going to break.”
Robin and Greg from Wisconsin, say they will vote for Donald Trump if he is an option in November because they believe he will protect America’s borders.
“I think anybody would protect the border better than the Biden administration,” says Greg. “Regardless of who that is.”
Children are among the fatalities in a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party in California.
Police said four people had died and 10 were wounded in the incident in Stockton, about 60 miles east of San Francisco.
Officers were called on Saturday to a banquet hall just before 6pm local time (2am UK time) and district attorney Ron Freitas said children were among the dead.
He said the attacker was still at large.
First responders walk through a parking lot near the scene of a mass shooting in Stockton, California. Pics: AP
“We can confirm at this time that approximately 14 individuals were struck by gunfire, and four victims have been confirmed deceased,” San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said on X.
The post said early indications suggest it could be a “targeted incident” but that information remains limited.
Police have so far not disclosed the attacker’s identity and the motive is unclear.
Stockton’s vice mayor Jason Lee confirmed on Facebook that the shooting on Lucile Avenue happened at a child’s birthday party.
Pics: AP
Mayor Christina Fugazzi also said that “families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive”.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office added that he had been briefed on the “horrific shooting”.
Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.
He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Air traffic above Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Pic: FlightRadar24
Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.
It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.
President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.
The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.
Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.
Nicolas Maduro is widely considered a dictator by the West. Pic: Reuters
The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.
Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.
Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.
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Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat
Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
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The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.
It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.
Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.
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