President-elect Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador discussed Saturday in a phone call working together on a “new approach” to migration that “offers alternatives to embarking on the dangerous journey” to the United States.
Why it’s important: Biden’s transition team statement on the details of the call represents a key part of the president-elect’s plans to review President Trump’s aggressive border policy.
- Biden has promised to end Trump’s “Stay in Mexico” policy that forced tens of thousands of asylum seekers to wait for their court dates in Mexico, but Stef Kight of Axios notes that this faces complications, including a possible rise of migrants at the border.
- The transition team said in its statement that Biden reiterated in the call that it “keeps the commitments it made on the campaign trail and noted that it would take time and resources to implement those commitments effectively.”
Details: “The President-elect stressed the need to reinvigorate US-Mexico cooperation to ensure safe and orderly migration, contain COVID-19, revitalize North American economies and secure our common border, ”the transition statement said. .
- “The two leaders noted the shared desire to address the root causes of migration in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and southern Mexico and build a future of more opportunities and security for the region.”
- Biden said he would work closely with Mexico and other regional partners during the first months of his administration “to build the regional and border infrastructure and capacity needed to facilitate a new orderly and humane approach to migration that respects international standards for it deals with the handling of asylum claims, “the statement added.
What they say: “We reaffirmed our commitment to work together for the well-being of our peoples and nations,” Lopez Obrador said. in a Twitter post.
- Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who was present during the call, tweeted about this the conversation was “friendly” adding that there would be “extensive bilateral cooperation and a very good relationship between” López Obrado and Biden.
It is necessary to emphasize: Lopez Obrador was one of the last attacks among world leaders to congratulate Biden’s election victory as Trump’s legal challenges ended. Last Tuesday he confirmed that he had sent a letter to the president-elect.
In depth: A wave of border crossings is an early test of Biden’s immigration plans