Republicans are targeting President Biden for skipping a family vacation to the Caribbean as the crisis at the southern border grows by the day.
The president's annual trip to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands comes just as a caravan of refugees makes its way to the United States, which coincides with an increase in border crossings.
But Biden's absence from Washington DC this week is emblematic of Republicans' perception that the administration is doing absolutely nothing to address the critical problem.
According to authorities, at least 10,000 migrants arrive at the US-Mexico border every day, including many asylum seekers. A refugee caravan with thousands of people from across the region – mostly Venezuelans – moved through southern Mexico this week and is approaching the United States
Biden is not the first to face partisan criticism for vacationing, while former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump are all under scrutiny for time spent away from the capital .
US President Joe Biden waves as he leaves Holy Cross Catholic Church after attending mass in Christiansted on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands on Saturday
People cross the Rio Grande to surrender to authorities in Brownsville, Texas to begin their immigration process, seen from Matamoros, Mexico
US President Joe Biden leaves a restaurant after dining in Christiansted in Saint Croix
But this time, the attacks on Biden's vacation also serve a dual purpose for Republicans, who see the border crisis as a potential political advantage for them since 2024 is an election year.
The border has been a headache for Biden for months, and his approval ratings continue to slide: Only 38 percent of voters say they approve of his handling of immigration, compared to 46 percent in November.
Republicans are also trying to gain some political influence in upcoming negotiations in January over a supplemental spending package that will address Ukraine, Israel and the situation at the border.
“Joe Biden is vacationing in the Virgin Islands while the southern border is in crisis,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said earlier this week.
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) criticized Biden for being “on vacation AGAIN while our southern border is being invaded by illegal aliens.”
Attacks on Biden's vacation also serve a dual purpose for Republicans, who see the border crisis as a potential political advantage for them since 2024 is an election year
Migrants cross the Rio Bravo on their way to the U.S. fence in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Migrants flood the streets in Ciudad Juárez in hopes of getting to the United States
Honduran Johely, 4, plays with Jennifer, 18, while Johley's mother Belkys, 32, sits in a tent at a refugee camp in Matamoros, Mexico, on Friday
About 2,000 migrants are believed to be part of a caravan that left Mexico's southern border in the city of Mapastepec in the Mexican state of Chiapas, the largest of the year
Members of the Mexican National Guard keep watch over migrants who left a caravan heading to the United States
Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs (right) echoed that sentiment, declaring, “Joe Biden is soaking up the Caribbean sun while an army of illegal immigrants storms our southern border.” Don’t be fooled; This is what the radical left has always wanted.”
Despite the mounting criticism, the White House declined to comment on the matter.
A Biden ally countered the allegations, pointing out that former President Trump played golf frequently during his time in office and estimated that Trump played 261 rounds, according to the Washington Post.
“The court jesters of the least productive Congress in modern history should probably keep their opinions about the most successful president in a generation to themselves — just as they did when their holy savior spent more time playing golf than being president,” the source noted.
Migrants in New York City are seen being bussed to shelter after arriving from Texas
New York City Mayor Eric Adams held a joint news conference Wednesday with the mayors of Chicago and Denver, who are also struggling to deal with the surge in migrant arrivals
Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has resisted New York Mayor Eric Adams' calls for when migrants can arrive in the city – with the latest busload scheduled to be dropped off just as the Times Square ball takes place on New Year's Eve.
Last week, Adams issued an executive order requiring buses to arrive at the Port Authority to drop off migrants only between 8:30 a.m. and noon Monday through Friday, unless otherwise permitted.
Nevertheless, around 11 a.m. a bus with around 50 asylum seekers left for the Big Apple El Paso, Texas. Saturday morning.
The bus, whose passengers include women and children, is scheduled to arrive in Gotham just before midnight Sunday evening, the charter driver told .
“We have to be back on the road by midnight,” he said. “Everyone is celebrating New Year’s Eve and we’re going back.”
Texas officials would not confirm whether they had received permission to leave migrants in New York outside of Adams' mandated time.
When asked about Adams' order, a Venezuelan woman traveling by bus to New York said, “We're not all the same.” Perhaps some migrants already there have done things they shouldn't.
“We go there to work.” “We just need a chance,” she added.
The woman, who did not want to be named but said she was traveling with her 11-year-old daughter, said they entered the United States through El Paso on Christmas Day.
They were looking forward to making New York their final destination after leaving Venezuela almost two months ago.
“Work, that’s all we want, is work,” chimed in a migrant standing next to the mother and daughter.
Migrants are seen being processed in El Paso and loaded onto buses to various destinations, from New York to Denver, Colorado
The migrants in El Paso waited in temperatures around 30 degrees and were served bananas and water
Thousands of migrants have crossed the southern border to seek asylum in the United States
Migrants seeking asylum gather near the border wall as they wait to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol on a low-temperature day in El Paso, Texas, as seen from Ciudad Juárez
A Border Patrol agent is seen walking past migrants waiting to be processed in El Paso on Friday
In border cities like El Paso, where migrants reporting to federal authorities never stop, getting people on a bus to their final destination is crucial to preventing local resources from collapsing.
Migrant shelters in West Texas are full and a vacant intermediate shelter is now housing migrants.
The Border Patrol confirmed that more than 22,000 migrants showed up in their small town in besieged Eagle Pass in just one week.
The city's population is only 28,000.
“Texas communities like Eagle Pass and El Paso should not have to endure the unprecedented surge in illegal immigration caused by President Biden’s reckless open borders policies,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott previously said.
Since Christmas, around 1,300 migrants have been on their way through the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua.
A second major wave could reach the border in a few weeks when a huge caravan of 6,000 to 8,000 people currently in southern Mexico arrives.
El Paso, which was the epicenter of the border crisis for much of last year, has three major processing centers built in the last 12 months specifically to handle the migrant surge at the border.
Although there are about 1,000 migrant encounters a day in the city — far fewer than in current crisis areas Lukeville, Arizona, or Eagle Pass, Texas, where 10 times as many migrants cross — officials here have the ability to quickly scale up their response if necessary this number is reaching its peak.
President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and their granddaughter Natalie arrived in St. Croix on Wednesday for their annual December vacation
The house where the Bidens live is colorfully decorated and has a private beach
Joe Biden still has a few days in paradise ahead of him.
The Bidens have a long family tradition of spending time on St. Croix, visiting there almost every year since 2008.
Both the President and First Lady are known to enjoy time at the beach. The Bidens own a beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware.
Biden's brother James owns property on Water Island and in the past the Bidens have often spent a week there in January when cold weather takes hold on the East Coast.
During his time as vice president, Biden vacationed on St. Croix in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Last year, he became the first president to visit the island since former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Barack Obama visited in 2007 when he was a presidential candidate.
Before Biden, the last sitting president to visit St. Croix was Harry Truman in February 1948.