United States Vice President JD Vance has ruled out any US invasion of Mexico, during a press conference held during his tour of the US-Mexico border.
Vice President Vance participated in an aerial tour of the U.S.-Mexico border and met with law enforcement officials as part of a trip meant to highlight tougher immigration policies that the White House says has led to dramatically fewer arrests for illegal crossings since Donald Trump began his second term.
Joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Vance is highest-ranking members of the Republican administration to visit the southern border.
After viewing the Eagle Pass area, around 150 miles southwest of San Antonio, by helicopter, the trio visited a Border Patrol detention facility before participating in a roundtable discussion with local and national participants.
State authorities say Vance’s itinerary also likely includes a visit to Shelby Park, a municipal greenspace along the Rio Grande that Republican Governor Greg Abbott seized from federal authorities last year in a feud with the Biden administration.
Trump made a crackdown on immigration a centerpiece of his reelection campaign, pledging to halt the tide of migrants entering the U.S. and stop the flow of fentanyl crossing the border.
As part of that effort, he imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, saying neither is doing enough to address drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
“They are now strongly embedded in our country. But we are getting them out and getting them out fast,” Trump said of migrants living in the U.S. illegally as he delivered an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.
Although Trump has not made a trip to the border since Inauguration Day, the visit of three of his top officials is evidence of the scope of his administration’s focus on the issue.
He has tasked agencies across the federal government with working to overhaul border and immigration policy, moving well beyond the Department of Homeland Security, the traditional home of most such functions.
