Border Crossings Spark Political Fire

In near-simultaneous speeches in Texas, Republican former president Trump called the record numbers of border crossings a "Joe Biden invasion" -- while the Democratic incumbent urged his rival to stop "playing politics" with proposed migration reforms.

The split-screen moment highlighted what could be a make-or-break issue in the presidential election less than eight months away, with polls showing most voters blame Biden for the unprecedented number of illegal entries.

Hoping his long history of anti-immigration rhetoric can deliver an extraordinary White House comeback, 77-year-old Trump painted a dark picture of Americans "kidnapped", "raped" and "savagely murdered" by migrants.

"Joe Biden is responsible for this invasion," Trump raged during his speech in Eagle Pass, Texas, speaking alongside the state's hardline Republican Governor Greg Abbott.

The choice of Eagle Pass was symbolic, as Abbott has taken military control of an area there along the Rio Grande river that marks the border, sparking a standoff with the US federal government.

Meanwhile Biden -- making just his second border trip since taking office in 2021 -- met border patrol agents and other law enforcement officials in Brownsville, Texas, about 480 kilometers to the east of Trump.

For hard-right populist Trump, an anti-immigration stance has been central to his political identity for years, and he has pledged the biggest ever US deportation program if he returns to the White House.

Trump spent much of his 2017-2021 time in office pledging to complete a wall along the Mexican border, only a small part of which was built, although numbers of crossings were lower during his term.

More than 2.4 million migrants crossed the southern US border in 2023 alone, largely from Central America and Venezuela as they fled poverty, violence and disasters exacerbated by climate change.