Biden marks El Paso mass shooting with an op-ed denouncing 'domestic terrorists' and committing to end gun violence 'plague'

President Joe Biden is commemorating the 23 people who were killed in a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas two years ago Tuesday by reiterating his commitment to end 'domestic terrorism rooted in white supremacy' and 'the plague of gun violence' over the US. 

He also met with Latino community leaders at the White House today where he and Kamala Harris reiterated their commitment to helping Latino families and businesses fight extremism and recover from the COVID pandemic.

Also on Monday, Biden doubled down on pushing immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for DREAMers, farm workers and essential workers through in Congressional Democrats' reconciliation bill.

'Two years ago, a gunman armed with rage and rifle targeted the people of El Paso, and our most deeply held American values,' Biden wrote in an op-ed for the El Paso Times. 'He thought that his hatred of immigrants could prove more powerful than the culture and vibrancy of the people of this community. He was wrong.'

Biden penned the op-ed to mark two years since the mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart that killed 23 people in August 2019

He and Vice President Kamala Harris also met with Latino community leaders, reiterating their commitment to fight domestic terrorism and comprehensive immigration reform to help millions of people gain a pathway to citizenship

He opened the letter with a message to the victims' families and sending 'love' on behalf of him and first lady Jill Biden and acknowledging that 'all that you lost can never be replaced.'

'For the loved ones left behind, it has been two years of pain thinking of big and small things. The goals he won’t have the chance to score on the soccer field. The young infant who is now walking but without his parents holding his hand with pride,' the president, who himself lost his first wife and infant daughter in an accident and later a son to brain cancer, wrote.

'As hard as it is to believe, I want you to know that the day will come when the memory of the one you lost will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye.' 

He said the US intelligence community has since confirmed what El Paso residents know 'too well.'

'The most lethal terrorist threat to our homeland in recent years has been domestic terrorism rooted in white supremacy. We cannot ignore it. We must confront the spread of hate-fueled violence in every form.'

The Biden administration is the first White House to release a report detailing a 'National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism.' 

It outlines four main elements to combat the 'serious and evolving' threat - understanding and sharing information on the full range of threats, preventing domestic terrorists from recruiting and mobilizing Americans online and other places, efforts to deter domestic terror activity before it erupts into violence and addressing 'long-term issues' in order to diminish the threat over generations. 

Biden commiserated with the grief of families who lost loved ones in the shooting (pictured: Walmart employees pay their respects at a makeshift memorial days after the shooting)

Biden also called on Congress to ban the kind of weapons used by the El Paso shooter

Biden said the shooter 'thought that his hatred of immigrants could prove more powerful than the culture and vibrancy of the people of this community' when he targeted the area

Federal law enforcement agencies like DOJ, FBI and DHS also committed to an 'increased focus' on monitoring domestic terrorism and increasing information sharing with state and local authorities.

The Justice Department and FBI are also reportedly rolling out a new system to track domestic terrorism nationwide, according to Fox News. 

The outlet also reported that the Department of Homeland Security designated 'Domestic Violence Extremism' as a national priority area within its grant program and will allocate upwards of $77 million toward responding to the threat. 

Biden also reaffirmed his pledge to fighting gun violence in the face of surging firearms crime in the US.

Last year was the deadliest year of gun violence in at least two decades, according to the Gun Violence Archive. More than 8,000 people were killed by gun violence in the first five months of 2021 alone.

He called on all Americans to combat hate-fueled violence for themselves, El Paso and the United States as a whole (pictured: A mural painted in the wake of the mass shooting)

'As we work together to counter the forces of violent hatred, we must also commit to ending the plague of gun violence that steals innocent lives and continues to devastate our communities,' Biden wrote.

He vowed to do everything he could to fight for 'commonsense gun laws that Americans overwhelmingly support' and called on Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines like the ones used by the El Paso shooter. 

At the end of June Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a 'zero tolerance' policy for licensed gun dealers who 'willfully violate key existing laws and regulations' to traffic guns out of state and announced new 'strike forces' to target traffickers. 

Biden ended his piece by urging Americans to 'stand united against hate and violence,' arguing that 'we owe it to the families of El Paso' and 'the soul of our very country.'