Sen. Tom Cotton says Biden's border trip is 'meaningless' 15 months after criticizing the president for being 'too busy' to travel there

• Republicans, including Sen. Tom Cotton, have criticized Biden for not visiting the US-Mexico border.
• Now that Biden is traveling there, Cotton said the trip will be "meaningless" because of his policies.

Sen. Tom Cotton and other Republicans have criticized President Joe Biden for not visiting the US-Mexico border during his time in the White House.

Now that Biden is traveling to El Paso, Texas on Sunday, Cotton is calling the trip "meaningless."

"Visiting the border is meaningless if Biden continues to push policies that invite illegal immigration," the Arkansas Republican tweeted on Thursday. "Policies matter. Not photo ops."

Some critics pointed out that Cotton has spent months urging Biden to visit the border. A Cotton spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Biden on Thursday announced that he's traveling to El Paso and unveiled new measures to expand legal pathways to migration while imposing new consequences for those who enter the US illegally. The program will allow up to 30,000 people per month from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Cuba to work legally in the US for two years if they have a sponsor and pass background checks. Those who enter illegally will be ineligible for the program and subject to expulsion to Mexico.

The program expands on a parole process, launched for Venezuelans in October, that the administration says has reduced the numbers of Venezuelan migrants attempting the enter the US unlawfully.

"Do not just show up at the border. Stay where you are and apply legally from there," Biden said at a Thursday news conference.

During the news conference, Biden criticized Republicans for rejecting bipartisan efforts in the Senate to put together a comprehensive immigration plan. He said Republicans also turned down his recent request for additional funding to manage the border with more holding facilities, better transportation, and more asylum officers and immigration judges.

Biden pushed back when asked why now is the time to visit the border after Republicans have been calling on him to make the trip.

"Because Republicans haven't been serious about this at all," he said. "Come on."

The US Customs and Border Protection agency says it has stopped migrants 2.38 million times at the southwest border during the fiscal year ending in September 2022, compared to 1.73 million in the previous fiscal year.