A Mexican delegation is set to visit Washington DC on Friday to discuss potential measures aimed at stemming the flow of migrants arriving in the U.S., Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
The Mexican delegation will be led by the country's Foreign Minister, Alicia Bárcena, in what will be a cabinet-level meeting. Her American counterpart, Antony Blinken, will be joined by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Homeland Security Adviser Elizabeth Sherwood Randall, among others.
The meeting will follow up on a recent trip from U.S. officials to Mexico, as migration levels to the U.S. broke numerous records in 2023 and the issue becomes a central talking point during this electoral year.
The issue threatens to become an electoral liability for president Joe Biden as it turns into a regular talking point among Republicans and polls show broad support for increased border security.
As Biden seeks to increase Mexico's support to reduce the number of border crossings,
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, commonly known as AMLO, asked the U.S. approve a plan that would see $20 billion in investment to Latin America and the Caribbean, suspend the US. blockade of Cuba, remove sanctions against Venezuela and grant at least 10 million Hispanics living in the U.S. the right to remain and work legally.
"Instead of pointing out that nothing is being done in Mexico to stop migrants, or unreasonably accusing our country, what U.S. lawmakers should be doing is approving a plan for the development of the peoples of Latin America," said López Obrador in his press conference on Friday January 5.
According to a report by NBC News, Mexico brings significant leverage to the ongoing negotiations The outlet highlighted that, to bring numbers down, the Biden administration needs for Mexico to let it send back more non-Mexican migrants, as it was able to do until early 2023.
That stopped being the case since the policy, known as Title 42, ended back in May. Ever since, Mexico agreed to receive 30,000 non-Mexicans apprehended by the U.S. each month. However, that figure now represents 10% of the total.
The outlet said that Mexico has shown willingness to step up its cooperation, exemplified with the resumption deportation flights to Venezuela. In exchange for increasing the strength of the measures, Mexico wants more financial aid to police its borders, but also for the U.S. to contribute to addressing the root causes of migration by stepping up investment in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In parallel, Biden will continue meeting with congressional leaders to keep on negotiating his request for national security funding, which includes aid for Ukraine and Israel in their respective wars with Russia and Hamas, as well as border security.
CBS News reported last week that the possibility of granting work permits to asylum seekers has been brought to the negotiating table, something that could make a deal more palatable for some Democrats who have criticized some hardline measures asked for Republicans and that the Biden administration is reportedly willing to concede.
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