Mexico City, Mexico — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador welcomed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to the National Palace Tuesday. The two met to discuss the bilateral agenda and migration.
Harris met with AMLO to discuss and tackle the root causes of migration toward the US in a visit after the Biden administration continues to face ongoing political pressure to stem the tide of migrants at the US’s southern border.
She said the administration will continue to work to reunite families separated at the border. “I believe that was a cruel policy to separate children from their parents, and many of them very young children. And the President feels the same way and we as an administration have made it a priority to reunify those children with their parents,” Harris said Tuesday to Mexico City media.
“The reality is we need to prioritize what’s happening at the border and we have to prioritize why people are going to the border,” she said. Harris said that she has “spent a lot of time on the border both going there, physically, and aware of the issues.”
“I think it is short-sided for any of us who are in the business of problem solving to suggest that we are only going to respond to the reaction as opposed to addressing the cause,” she added.
During their meeting, the United States and Mexico agreed to hold a High-Level Economic Dialogue in September, fulfilling President Biden’s and President López Obrador’s commitment on March 1 to revive this key forum that will expand bilateral economic cooperation and collaboration. The proposed agenda will cover key themes, such as trade facilitation, telecommunications and interconnectivity, and supply chain resiliency.
The United States and Mexico agreed to hold a cabinet-level security dialogue to discuss a shared vision for security. Transnational criminal organizations do not recognize borders. They pose a threat to all peoples and require a joint response.
The United States will invest an additional $130 million in technical assistance and cooperation over the next three years to work with Mexico as it implements labor legislation and to fund programs that will support workers, improve working conditions, and address child and forced labor.
“The meeting was transcendent, beneficial for our peoples and very pleasant,” said the president in a message on social networks.
