A U.S. delegation is set to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing crisis at the southern border caused by the influx of unlawful migrants.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be joined at the meeting by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall.
Blinken’s office stated that he is prepared to evaluate the current crisis with the Mexican president, which has led to record-high numbers of encounters with unlawful migrants at the border.
“Secretary Blinken will discuss unprecedented irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere and identify ways Mexico and the United States will address border security challenges, including actions to enable the reopening of key ports of entry across our shared border,” said the U.S. Department of State in a news release.
López Obrador said he is open to helping deal with this crisis, but he hopes to convince the U.S. to “help poor countries” such as Cuba and Venezuela.
“We are going to help, as we always do,” said the Mexican president, according to the Associated Press.
“Mexico is helping reach agreements with other countries, in this case Venezuela.”
The meeting comes amid a growing crisis at the southern border as thousands of unlawful migrants enter the U.S. every day.
Anna Giaritelli, a Homeland Security & Immigration Reporter for the Washington Examiner, posted on social media that there were 14,509 encounters on December 18, the highest number on record for a single 24-hour period.
Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed multiple border security bills into law to address this crisis, including a polarizing law that makes unlawful entry into the state a crime.
Texas Senate Bill 4 will also allow law enforcement officers to apprehend those suspected of violating the new law.
Although Abbott has stated that SB 4, along with two other bills, will help “[s]top the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas,” many other elected officials have voiced their disapproval of the bills.
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) posted on social media shortly after the bills were signed to say that SB 4 is “a dangerous new law targeting immigrants + everyone who looks like them.”
Castro included a copy of a letter signed by himself and 20 other members of Congress asking U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to take legal action against the new legislation.
