Texas border cities offer Biden and Trump different backdrops for dueling visits

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Presidential visits to the border are usually short on substance and long on political theater and symbolism — starting with the choice of location.

President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, are making dueling appearances Thursday on the Texas border, but Biden’s choice of Brownsville and Trump’s pick of Eagle Pass will provide sharply different backdrops.

Trump, who frequently visited the border as president, is again making immigration a signature campaign issue as he seeks to return to the White House in November. He opposed a Biden-backed border security deal crafted by Senate negotiators amid an unprecedented surge in migration. The legislation failed.

The Democratic president, making his second visit to the border since taking office in 2021, says he may act on immigration without Congress. Here’s a look at Thursday’s contrasting venues:

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