Migrant crisis looms over governors’ gathering at the White House

The record level of migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border loomed over a gathering of governors at the White House this weekend, revealing how the issue has become prominent in states nationwide and across the political spectrum.

The National Governors Association holds a gathering of governors at the White House annually to discuss matters affecting their states and other kitchen-table issues. For years, immigration has been on the backburner.

But that was not the case this year.

Several governors CNN spoke with over the weekend said immigration was the primary focus of their discussions.

“This is the No. 1 issue on Americans’ minds right now,” Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte said.

“Everybody realizes that this is a significant problem right now and a challenge,” North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper told CNN.

Governors nationwide, regardless of their proximity to the US southern border, have been grappling with migrant arrivals, in part as a result of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott busing migrants to Democratic-led cities unannounced. President Joe Biden acknowledged their challenges in his remarks before governors Friday.

“You deal with this every day; some of you deal with it every single day. You have real skin in the game,” Biden said, urging governors to ramp up the pressure on lawmakers to pass what he described as the “strongest border deal the country has ever seen.”

Several governors told CNN that they spoke with the president about potential solutions to addressing the challenges related to border security.

“I think what you saw in that room [at the White House] was both Democrats and Republicans that want a solution and that don’t think that Congress…