Biden, Obrador discuss migrants
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador were meeting virtually on Friday to discuss “unprecedented” flows of migrants and refugees at the US southern border, a major political headache for the White House ahead of November elections.
The call at 1:00pm (1700 GMT) puts the spotlight on the increasingly complex relationship between the huge neighbors, which are inextricably tied through trade, both legal and illegal migration, and the violent narcotics industry.
With all those issues looming over an upcoming regional Summit of the Americas in June, Biden will stress a desire to cooperate with Lopez Obrador. That’s in contrast -- the White House says -- to the confrontational approach under Donald Trump.
“Over the last year, we have worked very hard to rebuild the bilateral relationship,” a senior US government official told reporters.
Right at the top of the agenda, with Biden’s Democrats potentially facing heavy defeats in November midterm congressional elections, is illegal immigration.
The issue has vexed US administrations for decades, with the country relying on cheap migrant labor yet struggling to control the ever-growing flow of undocumented arrivals, including asylum seekers.
The official said “monumental challenges” around the world, ranging from climate change to the war in Ukraine and food insecurity, were prompting “unprecedented levels of migration.”
The already messy situation at the southern border is heating up with Biden’s atempt to end Title 42, a rule instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to quickly expel migrants and asylum seekers, rather than let them stay in the United States while their cases are heard.
Opponents see the rule as no longer justified, but Republicans and even some of Biden’s own party warn that liting the measure will trigger an uncontrolled surge in border crossings. Although the rule was set to expire May 23, a court order means it remains in place for now. Both sides of the political divide in Washington agree there’s a problem.