White House refers to illegal immigrants as 'newcomers'

Ahead of President Biden's visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday, the White House debuted a new term for illegal immigrants arriving in the country, calling them "newcomers." 

Biden will travel to Brownsville, Texas, in an effort to reassure voters who have soured on his handling of the border crisis. Republicans have lambasted the Biden administration for weak enforcement of immigration laws, and a recent poll showed that just 26% of Americans approved of the president's job on immigration. 

The language the White House used to describe the crisis may not alleviate voters' concerns. In a fact sheet distributed by the White House press office to advocate for the bipartisan border agreement Biden has endorsed, officials pointed out that the bill includes $1.4 billion "for cities and states who are providing critical services to newcomers." 

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The reference to illegal immigrants as "newcomers" — which suggests equal status to migrants who come to the U.S. legally — provoked a swift condemnation from House Republicans.

"The Biden White House is now referring to illegal immigrants as ‘newcomers.’ Joe Biden is not serious about stopping the illegal immigration into the United States. This is a catastrophe by design," the House GOP conference posted on X. 

White House officials have shot back at their GOP critics several times in recent weeks, asserting that if Republican lawmakers were serious about securing the border, they would support the bipartisan legislation President Biden has endorsed.

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The border bill negotiated in the Senate would increase Border Patrol staff and tighten asylum rules, expand law enforcement's authority to tackle fentanyl smuggling and increase funding to cities and states receiving asylum seekers.

Republicans argued the bill would normalize high levels of illegal immigration and do little to stop the flow of people and drugs over the border.

"We have done the work to make sure we're dealing with a broken immigration system. The Republicans have gotten in the way. They have gotten in the way," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday on CNN.

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"And so look, this is a serious matter, that‘s why the president is going to the border. The president was at the border a year ago in El Paso, visiting the border back in January 2023. He put a comprehensive, a comprehensive immigration policy on day one," she added.

Biden's choice of Brownsville for his border visit is an area that has seen comparatively small numbers of migrant crossings in Texas.

CBP data shows that Brownsville has seen just 46 migrant encounters over the past five days, compared to 2,106 in Eagle Pass. The former averaged 17 migrant encounters per day in February, while the latter averaged 462.

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Brownsville is part of the CBP's Rio Grande Valley sector, which has seen 87,426 migrant encounters so far in FY 2024. The Del Rio sector that encompasses Eagle Pass has seen 182,077 encounters, but even that is far below the busiest sector, which lies around Tucson, Arizona, and has seen 297,380 encounters.

Former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential front-runner, will visit Eagle Pass on Thursday in a competing visit, one of the most heavily trafficked areas in Texas and ground zero for Gov. Greg Abbott's fight with the Biden administration over enforcing immigration law. 

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.