Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said he is ready to help, but would also like progress in U.S. relations with Cuba and Venezuela, which are the main sources of migrants, and more development aid in the region.
The two countries, whose previous actions, such as restricting direct travel to Mexico or deporting some migrants, have failed to stem the flow of migrants, are under intense pressure to reach a deal. This month, officials detain up to 10,000 people every day at the southwestern border of the United States. migrants.
The US is struggling to control thousands of migrants at the border or house them once they reach northern cities. Mexican industries were dealt a blow last week when the US briefly closed two key Texas rail crossings, arguing that border patrols needed to be redeployed to deal with the influx of migrants.
Another non-rail border crossing in Lukeville, Arizona, remained closed, and operations were partially suspended in San Diego and Nogales, Arizona. U.S. officials said the crossings were closed to redeploy officials to help process migrant applications.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized that these border crossings might be reopened if Mexico does more to help.
“Secretary Blinken will address the unprecedented levels of illegal migration in the Western Hemisphere and outline ways for Mexico and the United States to address border security issues, including steps to reopen key crossing points across our shared border,” his office said in a statement before Wednesday’s meeting.
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Mexico has already allocated more than 32 thousand soldiers and National Guard officers – regarding 11 percent. of its entire force to enforce immigration laws, and the National Guard currently apprehends far more migrants than criminals.
But the flaws in that approach became apparent on Tuesday, when National Guard officers made no effort to stop the roughly 6,000. a caravan of migrants, mostly from Central America and Venezuela, passing through Mexico’s main internal immigration checkpoint in the southern state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala.
In the past, Mexico would let such caravans pass, hoping that they would tire of the highway. No caravan has ever traveled the 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to the US border.
But trying to force Venezuelans and others to travel on foot through the jungle-covered Darien Gorge or to disembark migrants from passenger buses in Mexico is no longer effective.
Many simply found other ways to travel. So many migrants are arriving on freight trains passing through Mexico that one of the country’s two main railway companies was forced to halt train service in September over security concerns.
The American delegation would like real police raids, during which the migrants would be unloaded from the railway cars, the kind of action that Mexico used a decade ago.
More aid for countries of origin of migrants
US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall will also participate in Wednesday’s meeting.
The US has already succeeded in making one country’s border problems two countries’ problems. The closing of the Texas railroad border crossings halted the movement of goods from Mexico to the United States, as well as the southward movement of grain needed to feed Mexican livestock.
Last week, Prime Minister Lopez Obrador agreed to a request by US officials that Mexico take more measures to block migrants at its southern border with Guatemala or make it more difficult to travel through Mexico by train, truck or bus.
But the president said that in return he would like the United States to send more development aid to the countries of origin of the migrants and to reduce or eliminate sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela.
“As always, we intend to help,” said PM Lopez Obrador. “Mexico is helping to reach agreements with other countries, in this case with Venezuela.”
“We also want something done regarding the (US) disagreement with Cuba,” said PM Lopez Obrador. “We have already proposed to President (Joe) Biden to start a bilateral dialogue between the United States and Cuba.”
“That’s what we’re going to discuss, it’s not just controversy,” he added.
Mexico claims to have detected 680,000 in the first eleven months of 2023. of migrants passing through the country.
In May, Mexico agreed to accept migrants from countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba that the United States refused to accept because they did not comply with rules establishing new legal pathways for asylum and other forms of migration.
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2024-07-22 02:26:52
