The importance of border security in this year's election was on full display Thursday with the two leading presidential candidates hosting dueling events at the U.S.-Mexico border.
President Joe Biden was in Brownsville, Texas, for his second border visit as president. Some 320 miles away, former President Donald Trump was in Eagle Pass, Texas.
The reality is that one of these men looks as if they will be president for the next four years come January. So how do their records on border issues compare?
Surge of migrants causing strain on border resources
The number of migrants flowing into the U.S. from Mexico has taxed the immigration system, which hasn't been significantly updated in decades.
Under President Biden, each year there have been more and more border crossings. According to the Office of Homeland Security Statistics, there are around 2.46 million encounters with Border Patrol agents in fiscal year 2023 — up from 2.34 million the previous year and 1.73 million in 2021.
That's much higher than during the four years of the Trump administration. On average, from fiscal year 2017 through 2020 when Trump was in office, encounters averaged around 572,000 annually.
When it comes to the November presidential election, it appears President Biden and Trump are setting up for a rematch of 2020, and border security has surged to the top of the list of voters' priorities. According to a recent poll from Gallup, more than 1 in 4 Americans (28%) consider it the most important problem the country faces.
