Officials from Mexico and the U.S. have agreed to keep border crossings open, according to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The Mexican leader spoke at a press conference Thursday following U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to discuss the ongoing immigrant crisis at the shared border.
“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,” Lopez Obrador said.
“The rail crossings and the border bridges are already being opened to normalize the situation,” Lopez Obrador told reporters, according to Reuters. “Every day there is more movement on the border bridges.”
“The United States earlier this month temporarily shuttered several crossings, including two key rail bridges, to redeploy enforcement resources elsewhere across the border amid soaring migrant numbers, a pivotal issue in next year’s U.S. elections,” Reuters reported.
Lopez Obrador characterized Wednesday’s meetings with Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as “direct” as he praised his country’s relationship with President Joe Biden.
“The relationship with Biden is very good, and he is very respectful of us, of Mexico,” he said, adding that Biden “understands that this (migration) phenomenon has to do with poverty.”
Mayorkas touted the “very productive” meeting in a post on X.
Blinken noted that it was “Good to discuss” the issues with Mexico’s president.
Despite concerns over the trafficking of fentanyl across the border, the U.S. and Mexican delegations “hardly discussed” the issue, according to Lopez Obrador.
“The bilateral talks come as hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers, many with small children, slowly walk across southern Mexico. The caravan, which Lopez Obrador has reduced to some 1,500 people, is unlikely to reach the U.S. border,” Reuters noted.
U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett reacted to reports of the decision by U.S. and Mexican officials in a post on X.
“We have been sold out by our overlords.Remember this in in 2024!”the Tennessee Republican wrote.
