Donald Trump to speak on border security in Austin on Friday

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will deliver a campaign speech on border security to reporters in Austin on Friday, hours before his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, rally in Houston, his campaign said Wednesday evening.

The former president will be in Austin that day to tape an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, as Politico reported Tuesday.

The appearance, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at a private jet terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, will give the candidate an opportunity to remind voters of her campaign’s signature issue, immigration, as Harris touts one of its own – the right to abortion – alongside the United States. Rep. Colin Allred in a more public setting.

The American Statesman contacted the campaign of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who is facing Allred in a tight Senate race, to ask if Cruz was considering appearing in Austin alongside Trump.

More: Why Democrat Kamala Harris is holding an end-of-campaign rally in Republican Texas

In a press release announcing the event, Trump’s campaign criticized the immigration policies of Presidents Joe Biden and Harris, pointing to the record number of migrant encounters at the U.S. southern border during their administration.

“The only leader who will secure our borders and put Americans first is President Donald J. Trump,” the statement said. “The stakes have never been higher.”

Trump recently pledged to carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants if elected in November. He also plans to “prevent federal agencies from automatically granting citizenship” to children born in the United States to undocumented parents, according to his agenda. This citizenship policy stems from the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

Harris, in contrast, supported the Biden administration’s policy of limiting deportations and said she would fight to find legal pathways to citizenship for illegal migrants.

In August, she said she supported Congress’s bipartisan border bill, which failed after Trump opposed it. The bill would have given presidents more power to reject migrants during peak periods, tightened asylum restrictions and allocated more resources to Customs and Border Patrol agents and checkpoints. inspection control. Many Republicans said they felt the bill was too lenient and that Biden should have found a way to close the border without congressional action, although Democrats said the bill granted many requests republicans.

More: Kamala Harris imposes tougher asylum restrictions during visit to US-Mexico border

Trump’s visit to Texas, where he maintains a slim but secure lead over Harris in the polls, will be his second in a month. Two weeks ago, he traveled to Midland for a fundraiser, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Statesman.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Donald Trump to speak on border security in Austin on Friday