Thousands join huge migrant caravan in Mexico ahead of Blinken visit
BBC NewsDec 28, 2023
Migrant Caravan Advances North as US Officials Hold Talks in Mexico
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Image copyright: Flickr/CBP Photography [via Wikimedia Commons]
The Facts
The head of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and other US officials met with Mexican Pres. Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Wednesday to discuss migration as thousands of migrants move north in a caravan through the southern Mexican state of Chiapas in an attempt to reach the US border.
The meeting follows a phone conversation between US Pres. Joe Biden and López Obrador last week in which they both expressed the need for increased enforcement at their shared border.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Mexico must do its part to halt the unprecedented surge at the US border, as the current state of migration is making conditions at the southern border untenable. Biden has rightly requested his Mexican counterpart to take further enforcement action and is attempting to get regional governments to assist with the migration flow. In the face of counterproductive GOP policies — such as Texas shipping off migrants to other cities — Biden is trying to respect human rights while simultaneously addressing the influx of migrants.
Republican narrative
Biden is to blame for the border crisis. He has to take the initiative to secure the border and stop the unprecedented wave of illegal immigration. The Biden administration should end the policy that permits Customs and Border Protection to release migrants without court dates, restrict parole, which permits the president to temporarily admit some migrants, and pursue agreements with third countries, such as Canada, to take in asylum seekers. In addition, the president should turn back or detain all aliens encountered between ports of entry.
