U.S. to issue more temporary work visas to Mexican, Central American migrants: Mexican president

MEXICO CITY, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday that after meeting with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, the U.S. government has committed to increasing the number of temporary work visas to Mexican and Central American migrants.

"The number of work visas to enter the United States will be considerably increased," the president said at his daily press conference, following his brief trip to Washington.

During the meeting at the White House on Tuesday, Lopez Obrador urged Biden to implement a program to solve longstanding immigration problems along the U.S.-Mexico border.

He specifically proposed "allowing the arrival in the United States of Mexican and Central American laborers, technicians and professionals in different fields through temporary work visas."

This is a "decisive" moment to implement new U.S. immigration policy, regardless of the country's upcoming midterm elections in November, said Lopez Obrador.

He also reminded Biden of the U.S. commitment to promoting immigration reform to regularize the status of approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants. The bill is currently stalled in the U.S. Congress.