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U.S., Mexican officials to resume talks on stemming migrant surge at D.C. meeting

Author: Editors Desk Source: NBC News
January 19, 2024 at 12:05
Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Barcena and Secretary of State Antony Blinken hold a joint news conference at the State Department's Harry S. Truman building in Washington, D.C., in 2023.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images file
Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Barcena and Secretary of State Antony Blinken hold a joint news conference at the State Department's Harry S. Truman building in Washington, D.C., in 2023.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images file
Secretary of State Blinken and Homeland Security chief Mayorkas will meet with Mexican officials on Friday. Border numbers have recently dropped from record highs.

Officials from the U.S. and Mexico will meet in Washington on Friday to discuss ways to deter illegal migration as pressure increases on the Biden administration to address the issue heading into November’s presidential election.

But neither side expects dramatic progress from Friday’s discussions. The talks, to be attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, White House homeland security adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall and Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Bárcena, are an extension of discussions that began in Mexico on Dec. 27, when U.S. officials flew to Mexico amid historic highs in illegal border crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.

After those conversations, Mexico began deportations of Venezuelans, a top nationality crossing into the U.S., and began interdicting more migrants crossing into Mexico from Guatemala. Those moves, as well as seasonal migration patterns, produced a dramatic plunge in the number of migrants crossing the border at the beginning of the year.

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