Mexico may accept more migrants expelled by U.S. under new Biden policy
President Biden (left) is welcomed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador after landing in Zumpango de Ocampo, north of Mexico City, on Jan. 8. Photo: Claudio Cruz/AFP via Getty Images
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday that he would consider accepting more migrants than already announced under President Biden's plan to address a record surge in border crossings, AP reports.
The big picture: The Biden administration announced last week a policy offering legal entry for up to 30,000 migrants and asylum seekers a month from Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela.
- The policy would allow officials to rapidly expel to Mexico up to 30,000 migrants from those nations each month if they attempt to cross the U.S. border illegally.
What he's saying: López Obrador's comments come as he, Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convene in Mexico City for a two-day summit that is expected to largely focus on immigration.
- "We don’t want to anticipate things, but this is part of what we are going to talk about at the summit," López Obrador said, per AP.
- "We support this type of measures, to give people options, alternatives," he added. "The numbers may be increased."
- López Obrador noted that he and Biden already touched on immigration during the Sunday evening drive into the city center in Biden's limousine.
- "We agreed on addressing the causes of migration" so that people aren't forced to leave their homes, he said.
Worth noting: Biden's new policy has already drawn criticism from immigration rights advocates and some Democratic lawmakers who accuse him of expanding the controversial Trump-era Title 42 in his bid to crack down on unauthorized immigration.
Go deeper: Biden targeting illegal border crossings