Kek, Kek, Key, the Hispanic House caucus crying he shouldn't come to Washington when they are not there
Trump and Lopez Obrador will talk long-term solution to illegal immigration
Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, told the Washington Examiner that the two leaders have more to celebrate than fight over.
"In a period where most commentators think has been turbulent, there has been a lot of growth in the relationship, at least when it comes to immigration enforcement," said Ruiz Soto. "The key idea here is, how do you ensure that the cooperation on migration enforcement and migration management in general really is something that can be sustained over the long term, not a response and a reaction from the Mexican government because of the U.S. pressure that it faced last year."
Ruiz Soto said investing in jobs in South Mexico gives Central Americans reason to stay there rather than migrate to the U.S., as well as opportunities for Mexicans, who are increasingly making up a larger percentage of illegal border crossers since last fall. Irregular migration, including caravans of thousands of people and seasonal upticks of children and families, have happened several times since 2010. The Trump administration has started immediately returning all illegal crossers at the border, including those seeking asylum, citing the public health issue as the basis for the decision.
Lopez Obrador arrived in Washington on Tuesday. His trip marks the first time he has left Mexico since taking office in December 2018.
The trip was protested by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, whose members said it was not appropriate because lawmakers were not in Washington
The White House will host a dinner after the talks and a briefing with the two leaders Wednesday. Ten Mexican CEOs, 10 top U.S. CEOs, delegations, and Cabinet members will attend the dinner at the White House.
"Usually, the official working visits do not have a dinner component," said an official. "This visit does because it, in fact, is a special relationship with a special dinner, and we wanted to make sure that President Lopez Obrador felt welcome in his first trip outside Mexico."