“This is a relationship that directly affects the daily lives of our people, and despite the exaggerated headlines we sometimes see, you and I have a strong and productive relationship, and I would support a partnership,” Biden said. The President said the main focus of their meeting would be addressing immigration, which he described as “a hemispheric challenge.” He said his government is working to create job opportunities for immigrants, including by granting more work visas. López Obrador spoke for nearly 30 minutes without interruption and offered an exhaustive history of the relationship between the US and Mexico. The Mexican President acknowledged “difficult times” and challenges facing the two nations, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which he said “not only constitutes sadness and destruction, but has made the economic crisis even worse.” In what appeared to be a dig at high U.S. gas prices, López Obrador said Americans living on the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico border were crossing the border “to get their gasoline from the Mexican side to lower prices”. The Biden administration has struggled with a growing number of migrant arrivals at the US-Mexico border after conditions in Latin America worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. After the meeting, the US and Mexico plan to launch a bilateral working group on labor migration pathways and worker protections and “expand our diplomatic coordination on migration issues across the region,” according to officials. Both countries have seen labor routes as a way to stem the flow of irregular migration. The focus Tuesday, officials said, is making those efforts a reality. On Tuesday, the administration is also expected to announce joint actions to improve border infrastructure, including investments in ports of entry, strengthening law enforcement cooperation to disrupt the distribution of fentanyl and promoting clean energy, economic innovation and prosperity, officials said. “I think this is an opportunity for the two leaders to look each other in the eye and try to figure out what they can really achieve in the relationship,” said Andrew Selee, president of the Immigration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. Despite López Obrador’s absence from June’s Summit of the Americas, Mexico signed a declaration, along with other countries, to address migration in the Western Hemisphere. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that Biden and López Obrador would build on those commitments, among other issues. “We look forward to the two leaders discussing their shared vision for North America and joint efforts to address global challenges, including Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Sullivan told reporters. Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, López Obrador admitted that immigration is “central” to his discussions with Biden and noted that Mexico “insists on support for Central America and also on increasing temporary work visas, making the migrant stream more orderly”. That comes with added urgency after 53 migrants died in a truck crash in San Antonio, Texas, last month in what officials described as the “worst human trafficking incident” in the US. Twenty-six of the victims were Mexican citizens, the Bexar County Coroner’s Office said in a statement Monday. People smuggling is expected to be among the issues discussed between the two Presidents. “The tragedy in San Antonio is on the minds of both the US and Mexico,” a senior administration official said, adding that work was already underway to tackle the people-trafficking network and discussions were ongoing to move it forward. . The Biden administration announced last month the launch of what it called an “unprecedented” operation to disrupt human trafficking networks. The business involves the deployment of hundreds of staff across Latin America and a multi-million dollar investment. “There is a recognition that there is a lot more that needs to be done about it,” the senior administration official said. “Arrests are great, but we need prosecutions. This is an area where the U.S., Mexico, and Mexico can definitely do more. I think that’s going to be a big part of the conversation. How do we increase prosecutions?” Other areas of discussion are expected to be disrupting networks and tracing “the entire chain from start to finish of the different actors involved in the criminal movement of people.” Vice President Kamala Harris will also host López Obrador at the Naval Observatory on Tuesday, ahead of a planned bilateral meeting with Biden, according to Harris’ spokeswoman Kirsten Allen. They will discuss issues such as immigration and other aid in the region. Harris has met repeatedly with López Obrador as vice president as part of her role in addressing the root causes of migration in the Northern Triangle. He has also hosted other world leaders at the vice president’s residence, including former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
