The North American Summit held this Tuesday in the Mexican capital concluded with a request from the leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada for a better understanding of the motivations of migrants who leave their countries of origin. .

“We are all immigrants,” US President Joe Biden said in an exchange with reporters at Mexico’s National Palace, alluding to the obstacles he faced in his country’s Congress to pass comprehensive reform of the immigration law.

Biden, whose administration in Washington recently approved a “humanitarian parole” program to accept migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua, he called for a better understanding of the motivations of immigrants in the hemisphere. “We can do more,” he stressed.

The new “humanitarian parole”an extension of a similar measure for migrants from Venezuela, includes issuing visas and work permits for people from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua at a time when the United States is experiencing one of the largest migratory flows of its history, according to data from the border control office.

Speaking, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador thanked Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for their cooperation in welcoming migrants.

López Obrador praised Biden for his administration’s efforts to reduce the flow of migrants through Mexico to the United States. In this sense, he pointed out that the Democrat is “the first American president in a long time who has not built a meter of wall”.

As for Canada, it appreciated the announcement of a program that provides for the reception of 25,000 Mexican workers in this country.

On Monday, issues of migration, climate change, trade and manufacturing dominated a dialogue between the United States and Mexico, in which López Obrador stressed the urgency of greater continental integration. He said only Biden, described as a “humanist and visionary” leader, has “the key” to improving life across the region.

Trade, also on the agenda

Trudeau, for his part, insisted on the advantages of close collaboration between the three governments for economic development, underlining the advantages of freedom of enterprise.

“When free trade is threatened, it hurts competition in world markets,” said the Canadian Prime Minister.

One of the announced pillars of the tripartite dialogue was the adoption of initiatives aimed at reducing imports, mainly from China and Europe, and increasing regional development and trade.

Summarizing the meeting, López Obrador reported on the creation of a “Joint Committee for Planning and Import Substitution in North America”, detailed in the event’s final statement.

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