‘We’re True Partners,’ Biden Says, After Meeting With Leaders of U.S. Neighbors
MEXICO CITY — President Biden defended his handling of the border on Tuesday, saying the level of migration was “a real strain” on both Mexico and the United States as he completed a two-day summit with the leaders of Canada and Mexico aimed in part at securing cooperation in the effort to stem the record-breaking migration across the hemisphere.
“We’re true partners, the three of us,” President Biden said at a news conference after a roughly two-hour meeting at Mexico’s National Palace.
The president described the levels of migration in the hemisphere as “unprecedented,” and said both Mexico and the United States were seeking to uphold their own laws while protecting the human rights of migrant people facing “desperate circumstances.”
“There can no longer be any question, none, in today’s interconnected world. We cannot wall ourselves off from shared problems,” said Mr. Biden, who also thanked his counterpart in Mexico for receiving migrants who had crossed the border unlawfully.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s own remarks on migration stressed the need to address the root causes of the crisis.
“We have to try for people to be able to work and be happy where they were born — where their relatives, their customs, their traditions and cultures are,” he said.
The North American Leaders’ Summit served as a forum to discuss economic cooperation, drug trafficking, migration, climate change and more.
Mr. López Obrador hosted Mr. Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the closed-door discussions at the National Palace in Mexico City, the seat of government and the residence for the Mexican president.
Mr. Trudeau emphasized economic cooperation on the continent, saying the three leaders were “all dedicated to driving economic growth that supports the middle class and those working hard to join it.”
Other issues on Tuesday’s agenda include renewed efforts to combat trafficking of drugs and weapons in North America. Biden administration officials have been frustrated in the last two years with what they say is a lack of Mexican cooperation in drug investigations.
The White House fact sheet said that the leaders had agreed to strengthen the North American Drug Dialogue to increase information sharing and to enhance collaboration among all three nations on nuclear security and safety.
Earlier Tuesday, Mr. Biden and Mr. Trudeau discussed the close relationship between their countries as they continue to deal with what Mr. Trudeau called “very real challenges” such as support for democracy around the world and climate change.
“When we work together we can achieve great things,” Mr. Biden told Mr. Trudeau, adding that there is “unlimited economic potential” when the two countries work together. “I’m lucky,” he added, “I got Canada to the north and Mexico to the south.”
