Joe Biden and Donald Trump will visit the United States-Mexico border on the same day this week, highlighting how illegal immigration has become one of the most important issues as they look towards a likely general election rematch in November.
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Biden will travel to Brownsville, Texas on Thursday to meet with US border patrol agents, law enforcement and local leaders, a White House official said.
On the same day, Republican former president Trump, who has been highly critical of his Democratic successor's border policy and the number of illegal immigrants crossing into the US, will visit Eagle Pass in Texas, a Trump campaign aide said.
Trump is close to securing the Republican presidential nomination after a series of primary victories over former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, his last remaining rival.
Trump is now focusing his attacks on Biden, with polls showing Biden vulnerable over the issue of illegal immigration.
The Democratic president's approval rating sank to 38 per cent in January as concerns over immigration flared, according the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The poll suggested rising concern about immigration, with 17 per cent of respondents listing it as the most important problem facing the US today, up sharply from 11 per cent who cited as the most pressing issue in December.
It was the top concern of Republican respondents, with 36 per cent citing it as their main worry, above the 29 per cent who cited the economy.
According to an Associated Press-NORC poll in January, concerns about immigration climbed to 35 per cent from 27 per cent last year.
Biden's administration has struggled to cope with a surge of asylum seekers on the US-Mexico border while Republicans in Congress, egged on by Trump, have threatened to scuttle a bipartisan attempt to tackle the problem.
Republicans in the US House of Representatives are pressing ahead with an effort to impeach Biden's top border official, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
On Thursday, Biden will discuss the urgent need to pass the Senate's bipartisan border security agreement, according to a White House official.
Biden has been blaming Trump for urging House Republicans to block the effort.
A Trump aide said the fact the Biden is visiting the border on the same day as the former Republican president "shows just how big of a problem this is for him".
The US president will reiterate calls for congressional Republicans to provide the funding needed for additional US border patrol agents, more asylum officers, fentanyl detection technology and more, the White House official said.
with AP
Australian Associated Press
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