U.S. officials met with Mexico’s president earlier this week and reportedly discussed energy, trade and immigration. According to Reuters, the Biden administration cited Title 42 to urge Mexico to take in migrants traveling from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. The U.S. officials sourced by Reuters said these three particular countries have produced a concerning amount of migrants. Most migrants from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua are difficult to deport due to the state of their governments.
According to U.S. and Mexico officials who talked to Reuters, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cited Title 42 as reason for Mexico to keep migrants from crossing the border. It would be a controversial revelation after the Biden administration previously promised to end Title 42. Title 42 allows U.S. border authorities to rapidly expel migrants to Mexico or other countries without the chance to seek U.S. asylum due to health risks related to COVID-19.
A federal Trump-appointed judge in Louisiana blocked the Biden administration from ending the order earlier this year. Secretary Blinken did not specifically comment on whether Title 42 was part of his discussions with Mexico’s president on Monday.
“We discussed shared efforts to address irregular migration in the Americas, including through humane border management policies and through expanding legal pathways and protections, as together we address the root causes of migration, something that Mexico and the United States are collaborating on in ways that we’ve not seen before,” Secretary Blinken said.
Talks between the two countries come at a time border crossings are at an all-time high. U.S. border agents have made a record 1.8 million migrant arrests so far in fiscal year 2022. Many are attempting to cross multiple times creating humanitarian challenges and political liabilities for Biden ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm election.
Reuters contributed to this report.
