Mexico to modernise US border with $1.5bn

The modernization of Mexico’s border with the United States will cost $1.5 billion, or £1.26 billion, according to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

After meeting US President Joe Biden at the White House, he made the news.

The Mexican president called for a “strong program” to address the record number of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border in a joint statement.

The two men also pledged to intensify their efforts to combat drug trafficking.

Prior to this, Vice President Biden of the United States had called the migrant crisis “a shared hemispheric challenge.”

With more than 2.8 million arrests recorded under his presidency, there has been a record-breaking flow of migrants into the US from its southern border with Mexico since he took office.

The two leaders met after Mr. López Obrador declined an offer to join the Summit of the Americas, which was hosted by the US, saying he would not go unless the presidents of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela were also invited.

The absence of Mr. López Obrador from the conference marked a low point in the two leaders’ occasionally contentious relationship.

But on Tuesday, Mr. Biden called Mexico a “equal partner” and assured his Mexican counterpart that they “have a robust, productive relationship” despite the occasionally overblown headlines.

Although Mr. López Obrador concurred that “we have been able to work together as good friends and loyal allies,” he emphasized that Mexican grievances were “not easy to forget” without elaborating.

The two’s main topic of conversation was migration, and Mr. Biden complimented the president of Mexico for “stepping up” by providing temporary work visas to Central American migrants.

President Biden said, “This is a tried-and-true approach that promotes economic growth and lowers irregular migration.”

In response, Mr. Biden was urged by President López Obrador to permit more migrant laborers to enter the US. He reminded Mr. Biden that it was crucial to “provide confidence to immigrants who for years have lived and worked in an honest way in this wonderful nation.”

President Biden applauded Mexico’s decision to spend $1.5 billion modernizing the border, but little details were provided regarding how the modernization plans will assist control migration.