The US will double the number of temporary visas for workers from Central America and Mexico, the White House said on Tuesday after President Joe Biden held his second one-on-one meeting with Mexico’s president in less than a year. The two leaders met to discuss immigration, security, inflation and challenges that extend beyond North America.
The Mexican president has returned to the American capital, for the second time in a year. Mr. Lopez Obrador, at the end of last year, met with President Joe Biden at the White House, for a tripartite summit that also included Canada.
On Tuesday, the Mexican leftist leader met face-to-face with Mr. Biden in the Oval Office of the White House. President Obrador acknowledged that neighboring countries have not always agreed.
“Despite our differences and grievances that are not easily forgotten, we have nevertheless been able to meet and work together as good friends and true allies,” Mexican President Obrador said.
Mr. Biden also sought to calm what many observers saw as a cooling-off between the two after the Mexican leader did not attend a recent regional summit hosted by the United States. Washington decided not to invite the leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, saying only democracies deserved to be included.
“This is a relationship that directly affects the daily lives of our people. And despite the inflated news headlines we sometimes see, you and I have a strong and productive relationship,” said US President Joe Biden.
The White House told VOA that they are strengthening that relationship by doubling the number of temporary visas for Central American immigrants.
“We know that if we want to reduce the number of people immigrating irregularly by relying on criminal smuggling networks, we need to expand the number of legal avenues,” said White House immigration adviser Katie Tobin.
But the former Mexican ambassador to the US estimates that when Mr. Obrador ran in 2018 for president, his focus was on domestic issues. Former ambassador Arturo Sarukhan spoke to the Voice of America from London emphasizing that Mr. Obrador in the four years of his presidency has made only 4 trips abroad, 3 of which were to Washington and one to the UN, in New York City.
“I think that what is really important about this meeting in Washington is President Biden’s commitment to ensure that US-Mexico relations remain at a level of normality,” said Mr. Sarukhan.
The United States and Mexico have presidential elections that occur in the same year every 12 years. The next “eclipse” for the US-Mexico presidential elections will be in 2024, after which the trajectory of relations between the two countries is expected to be more clearly understood.
