Mexico hails unspecified ‘important’ deals with US in talks on migration, trade

‘We are talking about the economic part, as well as the structural causes of migration,’ Mexican foreign secretary says

The Mexican government has announced that it has agreed to “important”, but so far unspecified, agreements with the US following discussions that American officials worked to focus on record-setting migration levels.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Mexican counterpart, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Barcena, who told the press that she had argued for the US to remove any remaining barriers on trade between the countries.

The Biden Administration is trying to get the support of the government of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to curb immigration ahead of the 2024 election, Reuters noted.

Mr Lopez Obrador, nicknamed AMLO from his initials, celebrated the “important agreements” on social media, previously saying he had asked for the meeting to discuss working together on migration, the economy, and security.

More than half a million migrants attempting to escape crime, poverty, and conflict went through the treacherous Darien Gap jungle between South and Central America this year – that’s double the numbers compared to last year, which set a new record at the time.

The US closed two rail crossings for five days earlier this year and shut down other crossings to redirect resources to different areas to handle the rising numbers.

Ms Barcena said reopening those crossings was a Mexican “priority”.

“We are talking about the economic part, as well as the structural causes of migration,” she told the press, according to Reuters.

Mr Lopez Obrador said last week that he would work to lighten the load for US immigration enforcement. Also on Wednesday, he argued that US lawmakers to help the poor in Latin America as well as the Caribbean “instead of putting up barriers, barbed wire fences in the river, or thinking about building walls”.

Former President Donald Trump is continuing to campaign hard on taking strict measures to compat illegal immigration and to push for further restrictions on legal routes to enter the US as he attempts to return to the White House.

Mr Trump focused heavily on building a Mexico border wall during his first term, and while the Trump administration did build 450 miles (725 km) of barriers along the border, which measures around 2,000 miles (3,200 km) in total, large parts of what they built replaced already existing barriers.

A mother from Venezuela with four children attempting to reach the US border said, “We don’t need to go back to our country if we don’t have anything there,” according to Reuters.

“I come from Venezuela,” she added. “And Venezuela is broken.”

The US delegation also included Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who tweeted on Wednesday that “we had a very productive meeting with President @lopezobrador_ and members of his Cabinet today in Mexico City. The regional challenge of migration requires regional solutions, and we appreciate Mexico’s commitment to continue its efforts alongside us and with others”.

Mr Blinken wrote: “As we made clear in Mexico City today, we are committed to partnering with Mexico to address our shared challenges, including managing unprecedented irregular migration in the region, reopening key ports of entry, and combating illicit fentanyl and other synthetic drugs.”