The United States hailed joint efforts with Mexico to address the migration crisis at the southern border as positive, following a meeting between the foreign ministers and senior officials of both countries at the State Department on Friday, where the parties pledged to continue to explore options . legal and professional options for controlling the flow of migrants.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken received Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena and a large delegation of Mexican officials to fulfill immigration commitments made on December 27, the US State Department said a statement.
At that meeting in late 2023, during a visit by Blinken to Mexico to seek help in stemming record migration, that country's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said the parties had agreed to keep border crossings open.
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“During the meeting, Secretary Blinken and the United States delegation noted that our coordinated efforts with Mexico are showing positive results on our shared border. They discussed the positive impact of efforts to strengthen immigration controls on bus and train routes and to crack down on criminal smuggling. “We will destroy our networks and increase the return of those who have no legal basis to remain in our countries.” said Matthew Miller, spokesman for the US State Department.
U.S. and Mexican officials reiterated the importance of continuing to expand legal and employment opportunities to address the influx of irregular migrants into the United States. They also discussed bilateral efforts to combat human and arms trafficking, the spokesman said.
On the US side, Blinken also attended the meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; White House National Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall; Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman.
In addition to Foreign Minister Bárcena, the Mexican delegation consisted of Defense Minister Luis Crescencio Sandoval González; the Secretary of the Navy, Admiral Rafael Ojeda Durán; the Minister of Public Security, Rosa Icela Rodríguez Velázquez; Mexican Ambassador to the United States Esteban Moctezuma Barragán; the Undersecretary of State for Human Rights, Population and Migration, Félix Arturo Medina; among others, the head of the North America Department, Roberto Velasco and the Commissioner of the National Migration Institute, Francisco Garduño Yáez.
Highlighting the peaceful transfer of power in Guatemala as one of the most important events in the region in recent days, Blinken said that the United States, together with the Mexican government, stands ready to support the people of Guatemala and their new government in both areas of economic development as well as in the management of hemispheric migration.
“Migration is a hemispheric challenge. “The United States is committed to working hand in hand with Mexico and countries in the region to address the root causes of migration and promote economic opportunities in the spirit of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection,” a spokesperson emphasized Miller.
The two governments committed to further cooperation on migration, including in discussions with senior leaders, on the sidelines of the Trilateral Fentanyl Committee meeting to be held in Mexico City in early February, the statement said.
Last week, Republican members of the House of Representatives criticized Secretary Mayorkas during an impeachment hearing over the record number of migrants attempting to illegally cross the southern border with Mexico into the United States. Democratic President Joe Biden's administration has ruled out an attempt to remove Mayorkas, blaming the refugee crisis on poor economic conditions, violence, corruption and extreme weather in most Western Hemisphere countries.
Around 10,000 migrants attempt to enter irregularly across the southern border of the USA every day, almost twice as many as before the pandemic. The 2023 fiscal year, which ended on September 30, ended with a record number of 2 million 475 thousand 669 migrants at various border crossings with Mexico.