Mayorkas, Mexico's Top Diplomat Discuss Managing Migration On US-Mexico Border - Statement

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th May, 2022) US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard met on Tuesday and discussed intensifying bilateral cooperation in managing illegal immigrants heading toward the US-Mexico border, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.

"Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas met with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard to discuss the shared challenge of migration throughout the region and the opportunities to advance economic development," DHS said in a press release. "Secretary Mayorkas and Minister Ebrard spoke of the efforts underway to manage migratory flows northward and each proposed measures to enhance and intensify those efforts."

Mayorkas also discussed with Ebrard the United States' preparation for the lifting of Title 42 on May 23 that will end the public health policy allowing US immigration enforcement to immediately deny asylum to most migrants, the release said.

Mayorkas emphasized to Ebrard that the countries throughout the region need to do more to manage illegal immigration on their borders and provide help to qualifying migrants, the release said.

The two officials also talked about the potential for economic development in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and other countries to help address one of the root causes pushing Central American migrants to flee to the US-Mexico border, the said.

During the meeting, Ebrard went over Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's plans to visit countries in the region starting on May 5 to learn more about the needs and possibilities of stabilizing migration in the area, the release added.

A record number of asylum-seeking migrants have continued to arrive at the US southern border. US immigration enforcement encountered more than 221,000 migrants on the border in March, breaking a 22-year monthly record, according to US Customs and Border Protection. Well over a million illegal immigrants have been encountered on the US southern border since October.