Vice President JD Vance visits Texas-Mexico border

EAGLE PASS, Texas - Vice President JD Vance will make a visit to the southern border Wednesday to highlight the tougher immigration polices imposed by the Trump administration.

Timeline:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard will join the vice president in Eagle Pass, Texas.

US Vice President JD Vance (L) steps off Air Force Two upon arrival at Laughlin Air Force Base for a visit to the US-Mexico border on March 5, 2025 in Val Verde County, Texas. (Photo by BRANDON BELL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The White House says Vance is set to tour the border, hold a roundtable with local, state, and federal officials and visit a detention facility. 

State authorities and local activists say Vance’s itinerary also likely includes a visit to Shelby Park, a municipal greenspace along the Rio Grande.

What they're saying:

Vance only made short remarks on camera before meeting with Gov. Greg Abbott and other officials behind closed doors.

"We took a helicopter ride over here, and we saw a big chunk of border wall," Vance said. "And I said, is that the federal government's border wall? And they said, well, it was ordered during the first Trump administration, but Joe Biden wouldn't let us actually build it."

The vice president then referenced President Donald Trump's speech from Tuesday where he said the U.S. did not need new laws to secure the border, but a new president.

"I've heard already from a number of the folks that I've talked to and Border Patrol, that all we needed to do was empower these guys to do their job," Vance said.

Immigration

Arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico plummeted 39% in January from a month earlier, though they’ve been falling sharply since well before Trump took office on Jan. 20 from an all-time high of 250,000 in December 2023, according to the Associated Press. Since then, Mexican authorities increased enforcement within their own borders and President Joe Biden, a Democrat, introduced severe asylum restrictions early last summer.

Trump made a crackdown on immigration a centerpiece of his bid for a second term, as he pledged to halt the tide of migrants entering the U.S. and stop the flow of fentanyl crossing the border.

Vance's visit comes the day after Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress where he touted swift action on immigration.

Immigration and border security were hallmarks of the Trump campaign and Trump has pushed for more security at the border and firing off executive orders that led to the designation of several South American gangs and Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups.

During Tuesday's speech Trump acknowledged the family of Laken Riley, a University of Georgia student killed by an immigrant without legal status and Alexis Nungaray, the mother of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old Houston girl who was killed last year. 

Two Venezuelan men who entered the U.S. illegally have been charged with capital murder in her death.

Trump signed the Laken Riley Act as the first piece of legislation in his second term.

During his joint session speech, Trump announced he was renaming a wildlife refuge for the 12-year-old Nungaray.

Tariffs

Vance's visit to Texas comes after the administration allowed 25% taxes on imports from Mexico and Canada to take effect.

The administration has said the tariffs are about stopping the smuggling of drugs such as fentanyl, but Trump also suggested that the tariffs are about getting rid of persistent U.S. trade deficits.

The tariffs on Mexico had been stayed earlier in exchange for Mexico supplying troops to help defend the border.

On Wednesday, Trump announced a one-month pause on new tariffs related to the automotive industry.

Vance was asked about the tariffs put in place against Mexico and Canada and if other industries have asked to have special deals put in place.

"Well, a number of industries have reached out to us to ask us for exceptions to the tariffs. But I think the president's been very clear here that he wants the tariffs to apply broadly," Vance said. "He doesn't want to have 500 different industries getting 500 different carve-outs. And the way to avoid application of the tariffs is to have your factory and have your facility in the United States of America. That is the way to invest in America. That is how you will avoid being penalized by these tariffs."