Biden arrives in Mexico for talks on migrants, drugs
US President Joe Biden arrived in Mexico on Sunday for talks on migration and drug smuggling, as well as a North American leaders' summit. Biden will meet on Monday and Tuesday with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau one-on-one and also together in what is dubbed the "Three Amigos" summit. He received a red-carpet welcome from Lopez Obrador, who then joined Biden in his armoured limousine for the journey from the airport. While trade and environmental issues are also on the table, Biden has put a surge in irregular migration and dangerous drug smuggling front and centre of his trip, his first to Mexico as president. In his meetings with Lopez Obrador and Trudeau, Biden will address the regional scope of the issue. "This is something that's not unique to the United States," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC News, noting that migrants are on the move from as far apart as Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua. "It's gripping the hemisphere, and a regional challenge requires a regional solution," he said. Biden on Thursday tried to tackle the problem, which has bedeviled US presidents for decades, by announcing an expansion of powers to expel people just showing up at the border without clearance. At the same time, a legal, strictly enforced pathway will be created for up to 30,000 migrants a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The quota will be restricted to those who already have a US sponsor, while anyone attempting to cross the border illegally will be expelled in coordination with Mexico. Human rights groups harshly criticised this as closing the door on desperate people, but the Biden administration says its actions will essentially kill the market for human smuggling networks, while encouraging legitimate arrivals. Mayorkas acknowledged the lack of deeper solutions, telling reporters "we've very limited avenues for... dealing with a broken system." (AFP)