Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says US President Joe Biden’s immigration policy is encouraging illegal immigration, and brings revenue to drug cartels through human trafficking operations at the US border.
According to the Reuters, Mexico has asked the Biden administration to assist by providing developmental help to Central America, where tens of thousands of migrants embark on a journey through Mexico in the hopes of reaching the United States and gaining asylum.
“They see him as the migrant president, and so many feel they’re going to reach the United States,” said AMLO (via Reuters) following a March 1 virtual meeting with Biden. “We need to work together to regulate the flow, because this business can’t be tackled from one day to the next.”
Some of Biden’s policies that worry the Mexican government include a fast track to citizenship for migrants living in the US and support for gang violence victims.
Internal assessments reviewed by Reuters — based on testimony and intelligence gathering — state that Mexican gangs have been growing their clientele and keeping tabs on US measures that would encourage migration. Additionally they have developed a new tracking system to move migrants across the US-Mexico border.
One anonymous Mexican official told Reuters that cartels have been using sophisticated smuggling techniques “from the day Biden took office,” such as using technology to thwart authorities, making smuggling operations appear as travel agencies, and keeping migrants up to date on the latest immigration rules.
“Migrants have become a commodity,” the official told Reuters. “But if a packet of drugs is lost in the sea, it’s gone. If migrants are lost, it’s human beings we’re talking about.”
