Issued on:
US President Joe Biden will seek Mexico’s help tackling illegal flows of migrants and drugs, particularly deadly opioids, during a visit beginning Sunday for a North American leaders’ summit.
Aiming to tame criticism over what he has called a “broken” immigration system, Biden will stop off in Texas for his first trip to a border overwhelmed by record numbers of migrants and asylum-seekers.
The issue is almost certain to top the agenda when Biden meets Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday, a day before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joins them for the so-called “Three Amigos” summit.
Another priority for Biden is stepping up joint efforts to fight trafficking of fentanyl and other drugs behind an addiction crisis in the United States.
>> US says it seized enough fentanyl in 2022 to kill every American
“Mexico is extremely relevant and important in dealing with both acute issues, which have become political vulnerabilities for Biden,” Michael Shifter, a senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank, told AFP.
On Thursday, Washington announced that up to 30,000 qualifying migrants a month would be allowed into the United States from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela if they arrive by plane.
The quota will be restricted to those who already have a US sponsor, while those attempting to cross the border illegally will be expelled in coordination with Mexico.
Mass kidnappings
The International Rescue Committee humanitarian group warned that the new measures “will only push more asylum-seekers into dangerous situations, the likes of which have already been seen in the form of mass kidnappings across northern Mexico.”
Flows of migrants fleeing violence and poverty in their countries are a major challenge for Mexico, whose border has become a revolving door for people trying to cross to…
