Biden, Mexico’s president agree more border enforcement needed

U.S. President Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart agreed during a call on Thursday that more enforcement at the border between their countries is needed, the White House said, as record numbers of people trying to cross have disrupted trade.

Top U.S. officials – including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Homeland Security adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall – will travel to Mexico in coming days to meet with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on the issue, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said in a briefing with reporters.

The visit will focus on efforts to stem migratory flows and how the two countries can work together, Kirby said, later adding that the leaders had spoken about what could be done from Mexico to slow down the process.

“There’s probably more we can be doing,” Kirby said.

Dozens of major U.S. agricultural groups on Wednesday urged the U.S. to reopen two rail crossings on the Texas-Mexico border to restore trade routes closed due to rising migrant crossings.

The White House then said it was working with Mexico to resolve issues that led to the closures.

That step followed a temporary suspension of expulsions of migrants by Mexican immigration authorities due to an end-of-year funding crunch, according to officials.

Lopez Obrador told a press conference Biden had requested the call.

Biden, who is seeking reelection next year, has been under sustained political pressure to stem the record arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border.