White House blasts McCarthy-lead GOP border trip as 'publicity stunt' weeks after Biden defended his own visit

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Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks joins 'Fox & Friends First' following the House's first-ever hearing at the U.S. southern border.

The White House claimed House Republican's trip the souther border is a publicity stunt and that the GOP isn't seeking any solution to the ongoing migrant crisis, after millions of illegal immigrants entered into the U.S. under Biden's so-called open border policy.

"House Republicans should spend less time on partisan publicity stunts and more time working on solutions," Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement Wednsday regarding the trip. "Solutions are what President Biden is focused on, and his is plan working. House Republicans would be wise to join him to work together to strengthen our immigration system and fund border security."

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is leading a group of Republicans to the border area of Cochise County, Arizona on Thursday and will reportedly take an aerial tour of the area with agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection sources said Monday that its El Paso sector had seen 2,397 migrant encounters in the last 24 hours. (Fox News)

McCarthy has made several trips to the border in an effort to combat the migrant crisis, but Thursday's trip will mark his first since being elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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The speaker will be joined by Reps. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Van Orden.

In December, CBP revealed that since the start of fiscal year 2023, which began in October, over 485,000 migrants crossed the southern border and was expected to hit the half a million later in the month. 

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment asking if they also viewed Biden's border visit as a publicity stunt. 

Border Patrol apprehensions of Chinese nationals crossing into the U.S. illegally are up more than 800% compared to the same time last year. (John Moore)

President Biden trip to the border with Texas Democrats was pilloried as a "photo op," after they reportedly did not visit several highly impacted areas and did not meet with any migrants during the 3-hour visit.

"Just before Biden comes here, they started cleaning up these encampments. I mean, that's just a fact. And they can try and spin it all they want, but the truth is the truth," newly-re-elected RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Fox News. "I hope the press comes and looks at it after he leaves to see what they did for his photo-op."

Biden visited a migrant center where no immigrants were being housed during his trip, which White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended as a coincidence. 

"[Biden] went to the migrant center, which was a critical place to be when you think about our partners who are helping support migrants on the ground there," Jean-Pierre said. "There happened to be no migrants at the facility during the time that he visited."

The visit marked Biden's first trip to the border after almost two years in office and he has not made any plans to go back since.

US President Joe Biden visited the U.S. southern border on January 8, 2023.  (Jim Watson)

The city of El Paso reportedly cleaned up the town and arrested migrants in preparation for the president's visit, necessary actions that could have been taken for the city's residents in previous weeks. 

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"El Paso is being cleared up as if nothing unusual ever happened there," the National Border Patrol Council tweeted on Friday after a report that "large crowds" of migrants were detained in El Paso by Border Patrol agents on Wednesday. "Just in time for Biden’s 'visit to the border.'"

Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.