Biden to visit El Paso on Sunday, his first trip to the border since taking office

President Joe Biden on Sunday will make his first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border since taking office, according to administration officials.

Biden will visit El Paso, Texas, to “address border enforcement operations and meet with local officials,” the officials said Thursday. The announcement follows comments the president made Wednesday, when he said he intended to visit the border before his trip to Mexico City for the “Three Amigos” summit with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts.

Biden’s plans to visit the border were revealed just before the president’s scheduled speech in the Roosevelt Room of the White House to unveil a new humanitarian “parole” program for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, the administration officials said.

The U.S. will accept up to 30,000 migrants per month from those nations in a border strategy that will be paired with the expanded use of Title 42 expulsions. It will reflect his administration’s latest venture to combat a migration surge straining the U.S. immigration system.

The new policy, effective immediately, is modeled after the one rolled out solely for Venezuelans this fall, which created a narrow pathway for up to 24,000 migrants who have preexisting ties in the United States, and people who could provide financial and other support. Implementation of the program, which deals with countries facing political and economic turmoil, is dependent on the use of the Title 42 authority to turn away those at the U.S.-Mexico border who don’t qualify.

Border agents have already turned away masses of Venezuelans using Title 42 authority over the past few months, and now they will do the same for Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans. Mexico has agreed to accept 30,000 migrants per month from the four countries, according to the administration officials.

Migrants who cross unlawfully into Panama or Mexico will be also deemed ineligible for the program, in an attempt to discourage people from taking the dangerous journey through the Darien Gap.

“The legal pathways that we are announcing today are generous, but at the same time, there are serious consequences for circumventing them,” one official said.

The program for Venezuelans, announced in October 2022, forces migrants to apply for asylum from their home country, while expelling those who tried to enter the U.S. unlawfully from Mexico. Venezuelans who were approved for humanitarian parole were allowed to enter the U.S. by air. The number of those migrants crossing illegally has dropped 70 percent, falling from about 21,000 in October to 6,200 in November, according to latest U.S. Customs and Border protection data.

The president’s speech will likely be met with swift criticism from immigration reform advocates and lawyers who condemn any expansion of the Trump-era border policy, which has allowed border agents to immediately expel millions of migrants on public health grounds without considering their claims for asylum. For days, administration officials have been weighing the political consequences of doubling down on Title 42.

Biden is also facing growing criticism from both Republicans and Democrats on border issues. Thursday’s announcement could temporarily help the administration tackle the record number of people fleeing to the U.S. but it will also open the White House up to criticism that it is utilizing a pandemic-era tool that Biden, who has said the pandemic is over, has formally pushed to ax.

“Rather than see this as restricting individuals’ abilities to seek asylum, you should see this as managing the border in an orderly and humane way, while also expanding these pathways with the parole program,” one administration official said when asked about the potential blowback.

The border dilemma has intensified for the Biden administration in recent weeks as officials prepared for a court-ordered end to Title 42 limits, only to see the Supreme Court temporarily block lifting the policy. But regardless of the Trump-era policy’s fate — set to be decided by the high court later this year — the southern border is facing a record-breaking migration influx likely to remain a key policy issue throughout Biden’s presidency.

Alongside additional legal pathways and deterrence, the administration is continuing its preparation for the end of Title 42 limits, the officials said. The administration is working to counter cartels and human smuggling networks, while surging resources like personnel, transportation, medical support and facilities to support border officials. Biden on Thursday will also call on Congress to fulfill his funding request for additional resources and for lawmakers to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

“You will also hear the president reiterate today that Congress has to do more,” an administration official said. “It is just a fact that years of congressional inaction and the previous administration’s destructive policies have created an immigration system that does not serve our national interests.”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will also hold a press conference on Thursday to talk about plans to expand Title 8 processing for migrants not eligible to be expelled under Title 42. Title 8 would allow the government to quickly remove from the country anyone unable to establish a legal basis — such as an approved asylum claim. These migrants would be subject to a five-year reentry ban.