Mexican, US presidents discuss economy, immigration by phone
"We are going to reinforce everything we can to help maintain the flow but in an orderly manner," Lopez Obrador added.
Andres Manuel Lopez with Joe Biden
MEXICO CITY: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said that he has discussed economic and immigration issues with his US counterpart Joe Biden, amid a surge in undocumented migrants concentrating at the Mexico-US border.
At his daily press conference, this time held in southern Oaxaca state, the Mexican President added on Friday that during the call on Thursday, he stressed the need to establish a development plan for Latin American and Caribbean countries, with an eye to curb mass migration north.
Mexico will take steps to regulate the current influx of migrants, he said.
"We are going to reinforce everything we can to help maintain the flow but in an orderly manner," Lopez Obrador added.
Recent weeks have seen an increase in the number of undocumented migrants arriving at the Mexican-US border, especially Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans and Ecuadorians, according to the President as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.
The migrants are mainly concentrated in Piedras Negras, a city in northern Mexico's Coahuila state that borders the US state of Texas, which has responded by closing rail crossings, interrupting the flow of trade.
Lopez Obrador said his government was also urging the US to improve its relations with countries like Cuba and Venezuela, which would ease migrant flows.
A US delegation headed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Mexico on December 27 to discuss immigration.
