Biden speaks with Mexican president about ‘irregular migration,’ supply chain issues

President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spoke on Friday about migration and supply chain issues following trucker protests at the southern border and the administration’s rescission of a Trump-era public health rule this month.

“In view of the unprecedented flows of migrants from throughout the hemisphere to our two countries, the Presidents reiterated the need to build stronger tools for managing regional migration surges,” the White House said in a statement. 

The U.S. and Mexico have previously worked together to implement measures that would lessen the number of migrants at the border.

Earlier this year, Mexico implemented visa requirements for Venezuelans at the request of the U.S. after the U.S. saw an unprecedented number of Venezuelans migrating to the southern border. 

“They discussed the importance of working together with countries throughout the hemisphere to ensure safe and sustainable livelihoods for their respective citizens and migrant populations, to advance our partnership to create jobs in Central America, and support efforts to expand legal pathways for migrants and refugees,” the statement reads. 

The call also comes after the Biden administration announced the rescission of Title 42, a Trump-era rule implemented during the pandemic that would allow for rapid expulsion of immigrants at the border and blocks them from seeking asylum.

The order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifts Title 42 on May 23. 

However, Biden has garnered backlash on the decision from critics who say that the federal government has no plan to deal with a potential influx of migrants after the order is lifted.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a moderate, called it a “frightening decision” when the rescission was announced.

The two presidents also discussed supply chain issues after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered every commercial truck be searched coming across the U.S-Mexico border in his state earlier this month. 

The inspections cause hours-long delays for trucks that threatened the produce they were bringing from Mexico to the U.S.

“President Biden and President López Obrador discussed how our countries can continue to advance our shared economic, climate, energy, and migration management goals in line with the High-Level Economic Dialogue, with a special focus on shoring up North American supply chains,” according to the White House. 

Abbott says he ordered the inspection of the trucks because Biden was not doing enough to secure the border and was going to end Title 42. In response, Mexican truckers blocked the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge.

The Mexican government at the time said that the inspections caused serious damage to trade.

Abbott dropped the enhanced truck inspections after he said he came to an agreement with the governor of Mexican state of Nuevo León on additional border protections.

The call comes ahead of the Summit of the Americas that the U.S. is hosting among country in the Americas.