Mexico urges U.S. to pursue diplomacy to curb illegal immigration

MEXICO CITY, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday urged Washington to pursue diplomacy and rapprochement, including with Cuba and Venezuela, as a way to tackle the immigration crisis.

"How is it going to be possible to maintain harmony, peace and tranquility if there are differences, if there is confrontation with the neighbors?" Lopez Obrador said during his regular daily press conference.

To raise the standard of living in Latin America and the Caribbean region so their people don't feel the need to migrate in search of work, Washington should work with the governments in the regions to address poverty and underdevelopment, he said.

To that end, Lopez Obrador said, the United States must change its foreign policy, especially in regard to countries such as Cuba and Venezuela, to lift the sanctions imposed due to "ideological baggage" and cooperate with those nations to curb mass migration.

U.S. and Mexican authorities expect a surge in migrants headed towards the United States with the end of Title 42, a COVID-related restriction used as a tool to turn back migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.