Mexico’s López Obrador hopes for a “new stage” with the US on immigration issues

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, hoped that the US government would open a “new stage” in immigration matters after the next meeting of the High-Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) on September 9 in Washington.

“I hope that there will be a response and that a new stage will begin because historically, the only thing that has been done is to limit and contain the migratory flow,” the president explained to the press on Tuesday.

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López Obrador confirmed a day earlier that his government would deliver a letter on migration to the head of the White House, Joe Biden, at the HLED meeting, where he will ask him to address the causes of migration and to offer temporary work visas for Central Americans.

The President explained that the letter he has written to Joe Biden “is basically” about the migration issue and comes with “a proposal” to order the flow.

“Putting into practice a plan so that there will be work in Central America,” said López Obrador, and thus be able to “address the causes” of the phenomenon.

He insisted that the United States needs a workforce, so temporary visas should be offered. “Coercive measures cannot be used to solve a problem that requires a comprehensive treatment,” the president stressed.

The Mexican president said that currently, “it is not possible to open the border and let everyone pass freely because “it would be violating our laws”. In addition, migrants, who face “risks” in their journey through Mexico, must be “taken care of.”

The region is experiencing an unprecedented migration wave in years. As proof of this, last July, the United States detained 212,672 undocumented migrants at its southern border, the highest figure in 20 years.