Gobierno de Mexico

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador visits President Joe Biden in the White House on July 12, 2022.

Mexico’s president visited the White House this week to meet with President Joe Biden. During the visit, Mexico committed to a major investment in border infrastructure.

Mexico will spend $1.5 billion to improve infrastructure at its northern border over the next three years, according to a joint statement from Presidents Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Biden.

The U.S. also committed to spending $3.4 billion on 26 border infrastructure projects. The leaders say that money will go toward technology that will help screen and process migrants, but won’t be spent on walls or barriers meant to deter them.

During the meeting, AMLO, as the Mexican president is known, said he was willing to continue working with the United States. But pushed for Biden to provide a path to citizenship for migrants already in the U.S. and additional opportunities for those seeking to work in the country.

The leaders also discussed drug, arms and human trafficking, as well as economic and trade issues that affect the two countries. They pledged to form a joint task force to prevent the flow of fentanyl across the border. And AMLO committed to purchasing 20,000 tons of U.S. milk and 1 million tons of fertilizer to help address inflation.