Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador criticized the U.S. Congress for focusing on building walls rather than investing in people. His comments came just hours before a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss migration to the United States.
President Joe Biden has sought assistance from Lopez Obrador’s government to address the surge in migration and handle the large number of people attempting to reach the U.S. border, a significant concern ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.
These meetings occur amid a sharp increase in migration, with over half a million migrants crossing the dangerous Darien Gap jungle into Central America this year — double the previous year’s record. Many of them are fleeing crime, poverty, and conflict in search of entry into the United States.
Lopez Obrador assured the United States last week that Mexico would help alleviate migratory pressures, emphasizing the importance of investing in the development of people in Latin America and the Caribbean to address the issue effectively and compassionately.
He also expressed concern that migration would become a key issue in the upcoming U.S. election, cautioning that immigration is often used as a rallying cry by political campaigns.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, has pledged to take a hardline stance on immigration, vowing to crack down on illegal immigration and further restrict legal immigration if reelected. During his first term, Trump focused on building a border wall and has promised to close gaps in the wall if he wins a second term. His administration constructed 450 miles of barriers along the border, primarily replacing existing structures.
Lopez Obrador scheduled a midday meeting in Mexico City with Blinken, who would also meet with Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena. The U.S. delegation includes Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. A State Department spokesman stated that the discussions would center around addressing “unprecedented irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere and identify ways Mexico and the United States will address border security challenges.”
On the same day, thousands of migrants and asylum seekers marched north from southern Mexico in a caravan in hope of reaching the U.S. border, with many of them carrying small children. “We don’t need to go back to our country if we don’t have anything there,” said Nohemia Zendejas, a mother from Venezuela. “I come from Venezuela and Venezuela is broken.”
(Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez and Sarah Morland; Additional reporting by Jose Torres; Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Brad Haynes and Alistair Bell)
