In an effort to address the escalating challenge of irregular migration, Mexico and the United States have joined forces, as announced by officials on Thursday.
A joint statement was issued by the governments of both nations following a meeting between Mexican President Andres Lopez Obrador and top US officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
Secretary Blinken’s visit coincided with a demand from the Republican Party, which holds a majority in the lower house of Congress, for President Joe Biden to take stringent measures against irregular migrants in exchange for approval of a Ukraine aid package.
President Obrador affirmed that the US had agreed to keep border crossings open, emphasizing the importance of managing the increasing activity on the border and bridges.
“There’s more and more movement on the border, on the bridges, and that’s why we must be careful so that the crossings are not closed.
That agreement was reached,” said Lopez Obrador. He further stated that railway crossings and border bridges were being reopened to normalize the situation and that both countries had committed to holding regular meetings to address the migration issue.
Earlier this month, US authorities temporarily closed two rail bridge crossings on the border between Mexico and the southwestern state of Texas in an attempt to control irregular arrivals.
Legal crossings were also suspended at several vehicle and pedestrian entry points in Texas, Arizona, and California.
US border police have reported an average of approximately 10,000 daily migrant crossings over the past several weeks, with many migrants fleeing violence and poverty in Central America, Haiti, and Venezuela.
In a related development on Thursday, Mexican officials used heavy machinery to dismantle tents at an informal migrant camp in the city of Matamoros, located in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas. The camp, established in late 2022, once housed up to 1,500 people.
Migration official Seguismundo Doguin clarified that only empty tents were being removed, while a Honduran man interviewed by the Associated Press reported that authorities were compelling migrants to depart.
