Quote:President Joe Biden is visiting Arizona on Tuesday to tour a chip manufacturing plant but apparently thinks he’s too good to see the southern border while he’s in the region.

When asked by Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy if he would go down to the border, Biden brushed him off and said it’s not a priority.

“Because there are more important things going on,” Biden said. “They’re going to invest billions of dollars in a new enterprise.”

Yes, it’s true that Taiwan Semiconductor making such a huge investment in north Phoenix is a fantastic economic opportunity. It is being considered a win that is crossing across party lines, so it’s no wonder that Biden would like to take a victory lap conveniently after the midterm election.

Still, Biden and his team should have allotted time to visit Cochise County or Yuma, for example, to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis. There were over two million migrant encounters in 2022, according to Customs and Border Protection data, and there are wide physical gaps at the border as a direct result of Biden stopping the construction of the wall. Those issues are just the tip of the iceberg, as there is poor communication with people wanting to come to the United States and claim asylum, and there’s a concerning amount of drug trafficking into the nation’s interior.

Jobe Dickinson, President of the Border Security Alliance, called the president out on how the fentanyl crisis largely ties to border security.

“During 2022 overdose deaths in AZ rose as high as 41% in year-over-year data published monthly. Illegal fentanyl is the leading cause. How can Pres Biden say while in AZ, he won’t visit the border because “there are more important things going on,” Dickinson tweeted.

Meanwhile, National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd said that “[I]t is apparent Biden cares more about politics than our children, friends and neighbors.”

Local county sheriffs and border agents would likely be more than happy to show Biden the issues taking place in southern Arizona, as they urgently need to be addressed at the federal level. While Texas and Arizona have been doing what they can to secure the border, the Executive Branch holds the bulk of the power to truly make an impact.

Biden is simply wanting to avoid the awkwardness of witnessing his White House’s own failure, which was caused by self-righteousness early in the administration. Their swiftness in getting rid of many Trump-era border policies created a vulnerable situation that has quickly turned into a disaster.

Border communities have been left behind for years, and his latest remarks are a slap in the face to the Southwest.