Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has claimed that the Biden administration’s immigration policy has contributed to a resurgence of migrants who have overwhelmed facilities on the southern border in recent weeks.
President Biden overturned several Trump-era immigration measures, weakened restrictions on asylum seekers, and ended a policy that required migrants to stay in Mexico while entering their case in the United States. Lopez Obrador said the changes had prompted migrants fleeing difficult conditions in Central America to venture into the border.
“Expectations have been created that there would be better treatment of migrants with President Biden’s government,” Lopez Obrador told a news conference. “And it caused Central American migrants, and also from our country, to cross the border and thought it was easier to do so.”
The government in Biden has in recent weeks resisted calls from IDP legislators to declare a crisis at the border and tighten immigration restrictions due to the boom. According to CBS News, more than 15,000 minor migrant workers in federal facilities are in custody.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reiterated this week that the southern border has been closed. He said the Biden government has no plans to expel unaccompanied minors crossing the border, despite the limited capacity at border facilities.
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – MARCH 17, 2021: President of Mexico Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, during his daily briefing, talks about the application of Covid-19 vaccine to the elderly in Mexico at the National Palace. on March 17, 2021 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo credit must be read by Ismael Rosas / Eyepix Group / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
Earlier this week, Biden said he plans to visit the border ‘at some point’.
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U.S. officials would meet with their counterparts in Mexico and Guatemala for discussions on how best to address the border crisis. Lopez Obrador argued on Tuesday that US support for economic development in Central American countries would help the cause of the migratory boom.
“People do not go to the United States for fun, they go out of necessity,” Lopez Obrador was quoted as saying by Reuters. “There needs to be support for the development of Central America and southern Mexico. Especially Central America.”