Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador promised his US counterpart, Joe Biden, "to help in everything" to avoid chaos at the border before the end of Title 42, Washington's immigration policy that expires Thursday night.
Follow our coverage of the end of Title 42 here
"(I promised) to help in everything, to cooperate with the United States Government so that there is no chaos and, much less, violence on the border, we are helping in the southeast to protect migrants," the Mexican president said at his morning press conference.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at his morning conference on May 11, 2023.
López Obrador referred to the call he had on Tuesday with Biden before the expiration of Title 42, a measure initiated by Donald Trump (2017-2021) to immediately expel migrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an emergency declaration that is about to end in the US.
The Mexican president also revealed that he will send more elements of the National Guard to the borders in order to deal with the migratory flow that is expected after the conclusion of Title 42.
[U.S. Announces New Program Providing for Express Deportation of Migrant Families Ineligible for Asylum]
Although López Obrador did not reveal the number of agents deployed, the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) reported last month that more than 25,000 elements had been stationed at the northern and southern borders for migratory tasks.
"We didn't (agree to reinforce the border) with him, we didn't agree, we made the decision. Yes (there will be reinforcement), but they are instructed not to use force. I have no idea (how many elements), but we did decide to be pending to avoid provocations," López Obrador responded.
The president justified the deployment of the Armed Forces by the existence of "opportunistic politicians" in the United States "who would like a conflict to occur on the border."
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"We must act cautiously, avoid a confrontation because they bet on that, they would like a greater conflict to be generated, so we have to be aware of, above all, avoiding violence," he argued.
After the end of Title 42, with which 2.8 million migrants were expelled, the United States will apply Title 8, the rule that has historically governed migration, and, in addition, the Biden Government has announced new measures that restrict access to request asylum at the border with Mexico.
[Hundreds of Migrants Turn Themselves in in El Paso to Patrol Hoping Won't Be Deported Within Hours of Title 42 End]
The Mexican government has been accused by human rights defenders of acceding to U.S. anti-immigrant policies, but López Obrador backed Biden.
"President Biden is a well-intentioned person, he's our friend, he's doing his part, under strong pressure because of what I'm mentioning, there's a conservative bloc there, a lot of hawks," he said.
Traffickers charging up to $10,000
In addition, the president denounced that traffickers or 'polleros' charge up to $ 10,000 to migrants with the promise of taking them to the United States now that Title 42 expires.
"There are many 'polleros', more than usual, many human traffickers, who are offering to take migrants to the border for 8,000 or 10,000 dollars talking about that as of today they can enter freely and it is a lie, a manipulation," he said in his morning conference.
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He also said he has deployed Mexican government officials to the borders to "continue to insist that there are legal pathways to enter the United States," including 300,000 visas for Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua, plus 100,000 for Central America.
"We have managed all this with the Government of the United States and it is the first time that the Government of the United States, especially by the decision and will of President Biden, that these visas are delivered," he said.
[Title 42 Comes to an End: A Quick Guide to How It Works and How Much It Can Affect Immigration]
The Mexican leader asked migrants to use legal channels to request asylum and not transit through Mexico, recognizing that there are dangers in the journey, such as accidents and kidnappings.
"We are informing that you should not run the risks involved in crossing our country, especially risks for the transport that is done in a very risky and inhumane way, in a box of a trailer go 400 to 500 migrants, without air, without oxygen," he said.
With information from EFE and El Universal
