Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday expressed a shared desire to find solutions to migration and drug trafficking problems.
Biden concludes four days of diplomacy at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in San Francisco, during which he also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Mexico and the United States are together,” Biden said. “We see this in our security cooperation. “We work hand in hand to combat gun trafficking, organized crime and the opioid epidemic, including fentanyl.”
Mexico’s president described relations between the United States and Mexico as “respectful and cooperative.” The Mexican leader praised Biden for his immigration policies, calling him an “extraordinary president” and a “man of convictions.”
“In terms of the fight against drugs, Mexico is committed to continuing to help prevent the entry of chemicals and fentanyl,” Obrador promised. “We understand the harm this is causing to America’s youth.”
The Biden administration has seen a record increase in the number of migrants attempting to cross illegally into the United States through Mexico over the past year and a half. Biden is already facing criticism over the issue as part of his campaign for re-election in 2024. Republicans have also criticized him for allegedly not doing enough to combat fentanyl coming from Mexico.
Republicans accuse Biden of abandoning the harsh immigration policies pursued by his predecessor Donald Trump, the favorite in the race for the Republican nomination.
Trump promises voters that, if elected, he will reinstate his Remain in Mexico program, which forced non-Mexican asylum seekers trying to enter the United States across the Mexican border to wait for their cases to be decided in Mexico.
In the first half of 2023, Mexico surpassed Canada and China in trade performance to become the United States’ largest trading partner with a trade volume of $396.6 billion. In 2022, Mexico had a trade surplus with the United States of $130.5 billion.
At the conclusion of the APEC summit in San Francisco, President Joe Biden will hand over the APEC presidency to Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
