White House Officials Visit Mexico As Caravan Approaches US
As a record wave of illegal immigration continues to overwhelm local governments across the U.S. and the border patrol agents tasked with addressing the influx, a massive caravan of migrants has been identified heading north through Mexico.
The group, estimated to include at least 8,000 individuals, was first identified on Sunday and is believed to be the largest of its kind since June 2022.
A majority of the migrants have been identified as Cuban, Haitian, Honduran, El Salvadoran and Venezuelan nationals, though a considerable number are believed to be from Asia and elsewhere around the world.
The Biden administration, which has faced mounting criticism for its permissive approach to immigration law enforcement and border security, responded to the caravan migration by sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken to meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Blinken will reportedly be joined on the trip by White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who is the subject of impeachment efforts in Congress due to his handling of the border crisis.
The meeting in Mexico comes after a phone conversation this week between President Joe Biden and Obrador, though there is no indication that these discussions will represent a significant shift in U.S. policy.
The State Department summarized Blinken’s position as one that will “reaffirm the United States’ commitment to the Los Angeles Declaration for Migration and Protection, and underscore the urgent need for lawful pathways and additional enforcement actions by partners throughout the region.”
Earlier this year, the Mexican president expressed his support for Biden’s policies, particularly in contrast to the significantly stricter policies implemented during the Trump administration.
“President Biden, you are the first president of the United States in a very long time that has not built not even one meter of wall, and … we thank you for that, sir,” Obrador told Biden during the North American Leaders’ Summit.
He went on to complain that “some may not like” the White House’s embrace of unchecked illegal immigration, criticizing “the conservatives” in particular for daring to request that American sovereignty be preserved through the protection of the nation’s borders.
