Biden visit to Mexico will spotlight immigration, other key issues - USA TODAY

MEXICO CITY – As the United States faces grounds numbers of migrants crossing the confederate borderline and with fentanyl overdoses claiming American lives, all eyes volition beryllium on President Joe Biden this week arsenic helium meets with the leaders of Mexico and Canada for the North American Leaders’ Summit. 

Biden’s gathering with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau comes a time aft the president stopped to sojourn the borderline successful El Paso, Texas, wherever scores of migrants are wandering the streets stateless portion section officials strapped for currency conflict to tackle a growing crisis.

All the while, Biden volition beryllium watched intimately by House Republicans who person waited 2 years to instrumentality connected Biden’s migration policies and person plans to bring Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas up to Capitol Hill to reply the caller majority's questions.

The gathering betwixt the 3 leaders also comes arsenic the United States is seeking to repair relations. Biden’s narration with Mexico, successful particular, has faced respective hiccups implicit the past twelvemonth aft López Obrador skipped retired connected the Summit of the Americas last yearand has continued flirting with Russia adjacent arsenic Putin's warfare successful Ukraine nears the twelvemonth mark.

Roberta Jacobson, a erstwhile U.S. ambassador to Mexico who served arsenic Biden’s coordinator for the southwest borderline connected the National Security Council aboriginal successful the administration, said this volition beryllium a infinitesimal for Biden to amusement however overmuch enactment has gone into rebuilding the narration betwixt some countries.

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"With each of its warts, this narration is really successful a somewhat amended spot than a batch of radical think," Jacobson told USA TODAY. "There are a batch of things that the 2 governments are moving connected of large value to the United States.”

But with migration, fentanyl, threats to ideology and clime alteration – particularly since once-climate person López Obrador turned to buying coal – stakes stay precocious for the commandant successful chief.

Immigration

With grounds levels of migrants, galore coming from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti and Cuba, coming to the U.S.-Mexico border, migration volition beryllium apical of caput in the meetings betwixt Biden and López Obrador.

Although Mexico had antecedently deployed nationalist defender troops to the country’s confederate borderline to assistance process migrants coming from Guatemala, the 2 leaders volition apt proceed to sermon much efforts Mexico tin instrumentality to halt migrants from coming to the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Tony Payan, manager of the Center for the United States and Mexico astatine Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said Mexico’s existent strategy has not stemmed the travel of migrants. 

According to Customs and Border Protection data, officials had 233,740 encounters of migrants successful November 2022 connected the southwest border.

“If the Biden medication thought that it was successful immoderate mode getting Mexico's cooperation, the numbers bash not amusement it,” Payan said. “So clearly, they're going to person to speech astir that and they're going to have to speech astir whether Mexico is superior astir migration oregon not.”

Ahead of the acme successful Mexico City, Biden announced a caller parole program for individuals from Nicaragua, Haiti and Cuba who are trying to question asylum successful the United States. 

As portion of the announcement, Biden noted that Mexico would judge 30,000 Nicaraguans, Haitians and Cubans per period – thing the authorities had not been doing pursuing surges of those nationalities to the border. 

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The program indicates that Mexico is consenting to enactment with the United States to assistance code migration issues.

The leaders could apt sermon the capableness of each country’s asylum systems, arsenic good arsenic however to amended process radical to assistance them find their way guardant successful the asylum process for either country, said Shannon O'Neil, Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies astatine the Council connected Foreign Relations.

Mexico’s relation successful migration has go larger arsenic it is present besides a destination state for radical seeking asylum, said Jacobson.

“Mexico is not conscionable a sending oregon a transit state anymore, but besides a destination country,” Jacobson said. “In immoderate ways, I deliberation the 3 countries person much successful communal connected migration than ever before.”

Stopping the travel of fentanyl

With wide fears successful the United States of accidental overdose due to the fact that of fentanyl, the White House has said addressing the deadly cause volition beryllium among the apical priorities during the summit.

“It's a killer. It's a level killer,” Biden said of the cause Thursday.

In 2021, much than 71,000 Americans died of overdose deaths from synthetic opioids – mostly involving fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Arturo Sarukhán, a erstwhile Mexican ambassador to the U.S., said the caller apprehension of cause trafficker Ovidio Guzmán, the lad of infamous Sinaloa cause lord known arsenic "El Chapo," signaled that Mexico was consenting to speech astir addressing fentanyl flowing from Mexico to the United States.

The apprehension of Guzmán sparked violence, with gunfights spurred crossed the Culiacan, the superior metropolis of the authorities of Sinaloa.

“I deliberation that Biden volition surely privation to guarantee that Lopez Obrador’s paradigm for nationalist information is not allowing organized transgression to proceed to turn and multiply which has been the lawsuit during the past 3 years,” Sarukhán said.

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Democracy

Both the United States and Mexico are facing statesmanlike elections adjacent year. And the authorities of ideology volition apt beryllium connected the docket betwixt those 2 countries.

Mexico successful December passed an “electoral reform” instrumentality that would marque elections little harmless successful the country. The instrumentality comes months after Biden touted ideology astatine Summit of the Americas past summer.

With some countries facing elections successful the coming year, the taxable whitethorn beryllium connected the agenda, said María Fernanda Bozmoski, lawman manager of programs astatine the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. 

Energy and trade

As the United States tries to marque moves connected electrical conveyance accumulation and promoting cleanable energy, the taxable whitethorn beryllium a constituent of contention among the 3 leaders.

Under the López Obrador, Mexico has been backsliding connected greenish vigor goals, turning to usage of ember and petroleum. Biden and Trudeau volition apt interaction connected however Mexico is going to beforehand greenish vigor going forward, said Earl Anthony Wayne, a erstwhile U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

In addition, Canada and the United States are going to person to determine whether to spell to a quality colony sheet nether the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) for favoring its state-owned vigor suppliers. USMCA is simply a escaped commercialized pact that was passed nether the Trump administration.

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“They've been negotiating intensely with the Mexicans to spot if they tin find a solution,” Wayne said. “And the U.S. is going to person to marque a determination arsenic to whether determination is simply a solution possible.”

There whitethorn besides beryllium a quality betwixt the three countries implicit attraction of cars and vehicles nether USMCA.

Mexico and Canada person argued the United States is not applying what was agreed into however you dainty autos and cars vehicles nether the USMCA. The 2 countries called for a quality colony panel, wherever they argued that much vehicles should beryllium considered for duty-free shipping.

“The question volition beryllium volition the United States judge that determination if it's negative?” Wayne said. “It's precise important that we find solutions to each these differences that travel up ... due to the fact that it's important for the credibility of our trading relationship.”

Reach Rebecca Morin astatine Twitter @RebeccaMorin_