US, Mexico Presidents Discuss Migration04/30 06:19

   President Joe Biden spoke with his Mexican counterpart, Andrs Manuel Lpez 
Obrador, about cooperating on migration policy as the U.S. leader continues to 
deliberate whether to take executive action that would crack down on the number 
of migrants arriving at the southern U.S. border.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Joe Biden spoke with his Mexican counterpart, 
Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador, about cooperating on migration policy as the U.S. 
leader continues to deliberate whether to take executive action that would 
crack down on the number of migrants arriving at the southern U.S. border.

   The call occurred on Sunday at Biden's request, Lpez Obrador said during 
his daily news conference Monday in Mexico City. In a joint statement, Biden 
and Lpez Obrador said the call centered on their joint efforts to "effectively 
manage" migration and "strengthen operational efficiency" on the U.S.-Mexico 
border.

   "We talk periodically," Lpez Obrador said. "I seek him out, he seeks me 
out, we chat."

   The joint statement said Biden and Lpez Obrador have directed their 
national security aides to "immediately" put in place concrete measures to 
reduce the number of unauthorized border crossings. The policies would also 
protect human rights, according to the statement. White House press secretary 
Karine Jean-Pierre would not elaborate what those new measures were, nor would 
officials from the National Security Council.

   The Mexican leader said the two countries have made progress in controlling 
unauthorized migration by persuading many migrants not to use illegal methods 
to move from country to country. Lpez Obrador also applauded a January 
decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that allowed Border Patrol agents to resume 
cutting razor wire that the state of Texas had installed along the border to 
try and deter migration.

   Since the collapse of border legislation in Congress earlier this year, the 
White House has not ruled out Biden issuing an executive order on asylum rules 
to try and reduce the number of migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border. 
Any unilateral action would likely lean on a president's authority under 
Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which offers broad 
powers to block entry of certain immigrants if doing so is deemed detrimental 
to the national interest.

   Administration officials have been poring over various options for months, 
but Biden has made no decision on how to proceed with any executive actions. 
White House aides have also seen little immediate urgency for the president to 
take any action, considering the number of illegal border crossings have 
declined since a record high of 250,000 in December as Mexican officials 
stepped up their enforcement efforts.