As a caravan of thousands of migrants approaches the border, US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is scheduled to visit Mexico City on Wednesday to talk about the recent spike in illegal immigration.
Along with White House homeland security advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and Homeland Security secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Blinken, 61, is scheduled to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Before the conference, representatives from Homeland Security discussed how Mexico could assist in reducing the number of migrants at the US southern border. These strategies included managing the railroads used by migrants to travel north, relocating people south, and offering financial incentives to avoid crossing the border.
The meeting comes as President Biden faces greater criticism from Republicans and his own party over the border problem.
The White House failed to get billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine, Israel, and the border earlier this month after leaders were unable to reach an agreement on border policy adjustments.
Blinken’s trip to Mexico also coincides with the movement of a massive migrant caravan – the largest in over a year – making its way north.
At least 8,0000 asylum seekers – mostly from Cuba, Haiti, and Honduras – set off for the US on Sunday.
There have also been more than 730,000 migrant encounters at the southern border since Oct. 1, US Customs and Border Patrol sources said.
