President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico says he pressed President Joe Biden to allow legal immigration at the United States’ Southern border during a recent phone call.
The two nation’s leaders reportedly spoke over the phone on the afternoon of April 28.
"We spoke on ... keeping the border open so that those who are in legal processes can enter the United States," Lopez Obrador said during a press conference on April 29, per Reuters.
Hours later, the presidents released a joint statement stressing their “continued commitment to strengthening bilateral and regional cooperation that will benefit the people of the United States and Mexico.”
“The two leaders discussed how to effectively manage hemispheric migration, strengthen operational efficiency on our shared border, and thereby improve the security and prosperity of citizens of both countries,” said the White House. “In the short term, the two leaders ordered their national security teams to work together to immediately implement concrete measures to significantly reduce irregular border crossings while protecting human rights.”
Biden and Lopez Obrador also said they had vowed to “advance initiatives to address the root causes of migration throughout the Western Hemisphere.”
“Increasing shared prosperity and security will be of critical importance in effectively addressing the migration challenge over the longer term,” according to the statement from the Biden administration.
Lopez Obrador previously said during an interview with CBS News that the United States could address the root causes of illegal immigration by providing $20 billion to impoverished countries in South America and the Caribbean. The Mexican President suggested Biden should grant legal status to “law-abiding” Mexicans who are illegally living in the United States and end the embargo on Cuba.
During the March interview, Lopez Obrador compared American lawmakers’ calls to close the U.S.-Mexico border to combat rampant drug trafficking saber rattling. He argued that Mexico is America’s top trading partner and that closing the border would have economic consequences.
“They could say, ‘we are going to close the border,’ but we mutually need each other,” said Lopez Obrador. “You would not be able to buy inexpensive cars if the border is closed. That is, you would have to pay $10,000, $15,000 dollars more for a car. There are factories in Mexico and there are factories in the United States that are fundamental for all the consumers in the United States and all the consumers in Mexico.”
The Biden administration previously suggested the government should increase the avenues for illegal aliens to gain citizenship or migrant status as a solution to illegal immigration.
During the Ninth Summit of the Americas in 2022, Biden vowed on the U.S.’s behalf to remain committed to “leveraging the benefits of migration while addressing its challenges in countries and communities of origin, transit, destination, and return.”
Proposed pathways for increased migration included “circular and seasonal labor migration opportunities, family reunification, temporary migration mechanisms, and regularization programs.”
