(NewsNation) — Biden administration officials will meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador next week as the U.S. and Mexico work to address the unprecedented migrant surge at the southern border.
Obrador says he is willing to work with the U.S. to help stem the surge in exchange for the U.S. loosening sanctions on some Central American countries.
On Friday, the Mexican president pledged that his government would reinforce existing measures aimed at curbing migration, ahead of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to the border.
A day before Obrador committed to doing more to block migrant crossings, he spoke to President Joe Biden about the crisis over the phone.
“The two leaders agreed that additional enforcement actions are urgently needed. President Biden has asked Secretary of State Blinken to travel to Mexico to address current border challenges,” Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Department of State spokesperson John Kirby said.
Obrador offered to negotiate with Venezuela, whose people make up a large portion of the migrant surge at the southern border. He mentioned the possibility of instituting a policy that makes it harder to move across Mexico by trains, busses or trucks, but says he wants to lessen economic sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela, which he believes is causing people to flee those countries.
Customs and Border Patrol have reported surging numbers at the southern border with some days in December seeing over 10,000 arrests in a single day.
Earlier this month, more than 12,000 migrants crossed into the U.S., a new record for a single day.
Over 4,000 migrants crossed into Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday. The surge caused CBP to suspend international railway crossings in the Eagle Pass and El Paso regions, so agents could be redirected to help process migrants. Operations did not resume until Friday.
Blinken’s trip comes as Congress continues to debate border policy changes as part of a larger aid package.