Joe Biden Campaigns In Santa Monica As Poll Numbers Slip

LOS ANGELES, CA — Former Vice President and Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden was scheduled to be in the Los Angeles Wednesday for a series of fundraisers.

The Democratic frontrunner was expected to attend two campaign events Wednesday evening. However campaign officials are keeping details of the events under wraps. The campaign indicated only that he would attend "finance events in Los Angeles and Santa Monica."

Biden has held numerous fundraisers in Los Angeles, and, although California may be a favored place to fundraise, Biden may not be the Golden State's favorite candidate. Last week a poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies that found support for Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren slipping among likely Democratic voters in the state. The poll showed a slight lead in California for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, with Warren a close second and Biden third.

He'll be back here again in eight days to make his case to voters in the next Democratic presidential debate, which will be held at Loyola Marymount University.

Biden was last in the Southland Nov. 14, when he gave a speech at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, spoke at a female-oriented event space in West Los Angeles and attended a pair of fundraisers.

Biden began his day in Las Vegas, touring the Culinary Health Center and attending UNITE HERE'S Culinary Union's town hall.

He is scheduled to attend fundraisers in Palo Alto and San Francisco on Thursday. According to Politico, one of those events will be hosted by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, and another will be hosted by attorney Joe Cotchett. Biden is expected to travel to San Antonio on Friday.

Earlier Wednesday, the Biden campaign released what it dubbed "The Biden Plan for Securing Our Values as a Nation of Immigrants" and "The Biden Plan To Build Security And Prosperity In Partnership With The People Of Central America."

In "The Biden Plan for Securing Our Values as a Nation of Immigrants," he promised to:
-- modernize America's immigration system;
-- welcome immigrants in our communities;
-- reassert America's commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees;
-- tackle the root causes of irregular migration; and
-- implement effective border screening.

President Donald Trump has called for what the White House described as "an immigration system that serves the national interest," and advances "the safety and prosperity of all Americans while helping new citizens assimilate and flourish."

Trump's immigration plan includes:

-- building a border wall and ensuring the swift removal of unlawful entrants;
-- ending chain migration;
-- eliminating the visa lottery; and
-- moving to a merit-based entry system.
``The Biden Plan To Build Security And Prosperity In Partnership With The People Of Central America," features a four-year, $4 billion regional strategy that includes:
-- requiring countries to allocate a substantial amount of their own resources and undertake significant, concrete, and verifiable reforms;
-- places strong conditions for verifiable progress to ensure that U.S. taxpayer funds are used effectively;
-- puts combating corruption at the heart of U.S. policy in Central America;
-- marshals private sector investment, including through public- private partnerships, to supplement government funds; and
-- recognizes the central role of women as a powerful force for development.

The State Department's U.S. Strategy for Central America aims to protect American citizens by addressing the security, governance and economic drivers of illegal immigration and illicit trafficking, while increasing opportunities for U.S. and other businesses, including providing $2.6 billion in foreign assistance to Central American nations in the 2015-18 fiscal years.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.