Phone call focuses on migration

Biden discusses issue with Mexico’s leader

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden discussed efforts to address the unprecedented flow of migration along the U.S. southern border in a Friday afternoon call with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

López Obrador tweeted that the conversation was “cordial” and that they “spoke of issues of interest to the bilateral relationship.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the majority of the conversation was about migration and “continued work on coordination, economic coordination, on taking steps to reduce migration to the border and they have been a partner in that over the last several months.”

Psaki said the tone of the 52-minute call was “very constructive.”

The agenda included the upcoming Summit of the Americas in June in Los Angeles and the end of coronavirus restrictions on asylum seekers trying to come to the United States.

The expected end on May 23 of the Title 42 public health ban on asylum seekers could trigger a rush

President Joe Biden speaks Friday during a meeting with inspectors general in the State Dining Room of the White House. In the afternoon, Biden spoke with Mexico’s president.

of migrants to the U.s.-mexico border.

The two leaders also talked about addressing the causes of migration, according to a statement from the Mexican president’s office. They discussed the need to guarantee safe and sustainable ways of life for their citizens and migrants and expanding legal pathways for migrants and refugees.

López Obrador called on the U.S. government to invite all nations of the Americas to the summit “without excluding anyone.” The Biden administration has suggested that Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua are unlikely to be invited.

López Obrador said in a tweet that Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard would visit Washington on Monday regarding “issues of cooperation for development and about the Summit of the Americas.”