President Joe Biden is finally headed to the U.S.-Mexico border, which has been in a state of crisis since he took office, and it appears when he visits El Paso, the true reality of the situation might not be evident.
Due to the recent influx of illegal immigrants in the El Paso Sector, local shelters have been out of capacity for weeks, forcing many to camp out on the streets in different areas of downtown. But there are now reports of the camps being cleared ahead of Biden visiting the city on Sunday:
The hundreds of people camped out on individual blocks surrounding the Greyhound Bus Station and Sacred Heart Church have been moved out of eyesight by local El Paso police officers and federal Border Patrol agents, according to four law enforcement officials who spoke with the Washington Examiner on Thursday.
"The [community residents] that experienced it on a daily basis were fed up and they made it known," a senior federal agent wrote in a text message. "Crime was getting bad and many residents were complaining. Some migrants even took over private parking lots and were charging for people to use them for parking."
Another reason why people were not able to go to shelters was because they had never surrendered to Border Patrol and had not been processed. Border Patrol agents have been removing those who did not have documentation to prove they self-surrendered.
Border Patrol agents being ordered to empty out holding facilities before a top official visits has been common practice during the border crisis, whether it's members of Congress on a delegation or Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Reporter: “El Paso has cleared the downtown of these expansive migrant camps that have grown there in advance of the president’s arrival. Is the president going to see a sanitized version of El Paso when he arrives at the border?”
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 6, 2023
Biden Spokesman John Kirby: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/i9NeVGA2zw
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