WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States plans to block the Trump administration’s ‘draconian’ immigration approach while working on policies that address the causes of migration, President Joe Biden told his Mexican counterpart, the White House said Saturday.
In a Friday call with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Biden outlined his plan to create new legal avenues for immigration and improve the process for people seeking asylum, according to a White House call.
The White House has a priority to reverse the draconian immigration policies of the previous government.
The White House release said the two leaders had agreed to work together to reduce the “irregular migration”.
Mexico plays a key role in Biden’s immigration reform plans. Earlier this month, Mexico helped coordinate efforts in Central America to contain a large caravan of migrants en route to the United States.
Mexico’s foreign ministry also said it had started with Washington over a COVID-19-related order signed by Biden to draw up firmer health protocols for people entering U.S. territory.
The call was “pleasant and respectful”, López Obrador said in a short Twitter post.
“Everything indicates that relations will be good and for the benefit of our people and nations,” López Obrador said.
Nevertheless, Biden’s inauguration comes at a time of tension over a US investigation into former Mexican defense minister Salvador Cienfuegos.
Fighting legal and illegal immigration has been a core focus of Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump.
Biden, meanwhile, has made an early effort for a bill that would illegally open the way for citizenship for the approximately 11 million people in the United States, although even his allies in Congress acknowledge that it could be a ‘Herculean task’. be.
(Edited by Christopher Bing; Edited by Scott Malone, Daniel Wallis, Diane Craft and Franklin Paul)