United States President Joe Biden took advantage of the Cinco de Mayo celebration at the White House this Monday to criticize former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump’s immigration plans.

“He wants to use the army to deport more than 11 million people. (…) This does not represent us as a country,” the Democrat said at an event celebrating the Mexican-American community.

The president referred to Trump’s statements to Time magazine in which he detailed his plans for a new government if he is elected in November. These include using the National Guard and military to detain and deport people without legal immigration status in the United States.

Immigration has become one of the central issues in the race for the US presidency, with more than 28% of Americans citing it as the country’s top “issue,” according to a Gallup poll released in February.

Trump continued his anti-immigration rhetoric, repeating the strategy that propelled him to the presidency in 2016. The current president, for his part, has toughened his stance against those seeking a new life in the United States compared to the promises he made in 2016. bell.

Faced with a record number of migrants at the border with Mexico, Biden has imposed stricter restrictions on eligibility for asylum, which can only be sought on U.S. soil.

At the same time, after more than three years in power, the Democratic administration has failed to deliver on its promise to offer a path to legal status for more than 11 million undocumented people. EFE