On 31 May Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador praised US measures to provide legal migration pathways, following a meeting with US White House Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall the previous day.
Analysis:
The US administration of President Joe Biden appears to have entrusted Sherwood-Randall with the task of maintaining dialogue with Mexico at times of bilateral tension. She has visited Mexico three times in less than three months for talks focused on migration and fentanyl trafficking, with her visits often coinciding with moments of confrontation. This most recent visit comes as Mexico’s government continues to reel at comments made by US Republican Senator John Kennedy on 10 May, as well as other suggestions from Republicans surrounding the militarisation of the border and resuming construction of a border wall. As with previous visits, Sherwood-Randall’s most recent trip appears to have reduced tensions.
- Sherwood-Randall attended a meeting at the national palace in Mexico City (CDMX) on 30 May with López Obrador, US ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar, Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Public Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez, among other officials.
- In a press conference yesterday, López Obrador said the meeting had been “very good”. He noted it was the first time in years that a US government had opened pathways for legal migration, saying the US was granting 400,000 temporary work visas for migrants from Haiti, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela.
- He presented a graph which he said showed that migration flows had “reduced considerably” since the US launched these pathways in May, despite the lifting of Title 42, which had been expected to spark an influx in irregular migration.
- López Obrador also said they had discussed efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking during the meeting. He called for “a sort of truce” between the US and China so they could work together to tackle the issue. López Obrador continues to deny that fentanyl is produced in Mexico, stating it arrives ready-made from Asia, a narrative which the US and China dispute.
- Sherwood-Randall previously visited Mexico on 9 March and 2 May, as well as leading a US delegation at a meeting with Mexican officials in Washington on 13 April.
Looking Ahead: López Obrador said a follow-up meeting would take place in a month’s time. He said he thought it would be held in Canada and that he would not attend, with Ebrard and Rodríguez going in his place.
