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US, Mexico Discuss Options to Slow Surge of Migrants at Border

by VOA News

   U.S. and Mexican officials met Wednesday in Mexico City to discuss how
   to slow the surge of migrants at the countries' shared border, where
   there have been as many as 10,000 illegal crossings into the United
   States daily in December.

   The two sides, led by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and
   Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, met for about two
   hours.

   A senior Biden administration official told reporters that Mexican
   leaders told the U.S. delegation about new measures Mexico is taking,
   including cracking down on smugglers who put migrants on trains or
   buses heading toward the border.

   "We were really impressed by some of the new actions that Mexico is
   taking, and we have seen in recent days a pretty significant reduction
   in border crossings," the official said.

   López Obrador said on social media late Wednesday that "important
   agreements were reached" to benefit the two countries and their people.
   He did not detail any specific deals.

   He said earlier Wednesday that Mexico is willing to help but that he
   wants to see progress in U.S. relations with two of the top sources of
   migrants, Cuba and Venezuela. He also stressed the need for more
   development aid for the region.

   "We have always talked about addressing the causes [of migration]. The
   ideal thing is to help poor countries," López Obrador said.

   U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas described
   Wednesday's talks as "productive."

   "The regional challenge of migration requires regional solutions, and
   we appreciate Mexico's commitment to continue its efforts alongside us
   and with others," Mayorkas said on the social media site X formerly
   known as Twitter.

   The critical one-day meeting came as migration numbers have reached
   record levels. In 2023, more than half a million migrants, many fleeing
   crime, poverty and regional conflicts, have crossed the Darien Gap
   jungle into Central America. That is double the number who attempted
   the trek in 2022.

   The surge of arrests at the southwest U.S. border, with 10,000 migrants
   trying to cross each day, has strained the U.S. Customs and Border
   Protection agency.

   On December 18, the United States briefly closed a pair of rail
   crossings with Mexico, citing migrants' use of freight trains to travel
   to areas near the border and the need to redirect CBP personnel to
   assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody.

   Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Alicia Bárcena said after the
   meeting that it was important for Mexico to get the United States to
   reopen border crossings.

   "We spoke about the importance of the border, and about the economic
   relationship ... the importance of reopening the border crossings, that
   is a priority for us," Bárcena said.

   Before the meeting, Blinken's office said he would "discuss
   unprecedented irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere and
   identify ways Mexico and the United States will address border security
   challenges, including actions to enable the reopening of key ports of
   entry across our shared border."

   The migration crisis has become a roadblock for U.S. President Joe
   Biden. Congressional Republicans have made changes to immigration law a
   condition for passing legislation that includes U.S. military support
   for Ukraine, as well as Israel and Taiwan.

   Also Wednesday, about 6,000 migrants and asylum-seekers, including
   small children, continued their slow march north from southern Mexico
   in a caravan hoping to reach the U.S. border.

   Mexican authorities also moved to clear a migrant encampment along the
   border in Matamoros, across the Rio Grande River from Brownsville,
   Texas.

   Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence
   France-Presse and Reuters.