The White House refused to say if they believe the Democrat-led border visit Friday is a publicity stunt, after attempting to discredit the House Republican trip as political theater a day earlier.
Ian Sams, White House spokesperson, wrote in a Wednesday evening statement that Republicans were not seeking any solution to the border crisis, but rather focusing on "publicity stunts." The statement was made "ahead of House Republicans’ field hearing at the border tonight and amid House Republicans’ border visits this week," according to an email from the White House.
Just one day after the GOP visit, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, are scheduled to visit the border in Laredo, Texas, on Friday to meet with border sheriffs and local mayors, take an aerial tour of the border and hold press availability.
Despite both parties seeking to further their understanding of the ongoing migrant crisis at the border this week, the White House only claimed that the Republican visit was a publicity stunt, but declined to comment to Fox News Digital on the trip led by Jeffries.
"House Republicans should spend less time on partisan publicity stunts and more time working on solutions," Sams said Wednesday regarding the GOP 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."
Ahead of the Democratic House members' trip to the border, Cuellar – who represents a border district and has been critical of the Biden administration's border policies – said he encouraged colleagues to visit the area in order to understand the situation.
"It’s important that members visit the border and try to get an objective understanding of the border," Cuellar told Fox News on Thursday.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., visited the border area in Cochise County, Arizona, Thursday, joined by freshman Reps. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis.
"You cannot tell us this is secure when more than 42% of gotaways come through here. You cannot tell me this border is secure when there is enough fentanyl to kill every single American more than 20 times over. This is all about to change," McCarthy said during a press conference at the border.
As lawmakers work to control the influx of migrants pouring over the southern border, the Biden administration revealed that there were more than 156,000 migrant encounters at the border in January, after seeing over a quarter of a million coming through in December.
