Biden heads to Mexico next month for leaders summit

President Joe Biden will travel to Mexico next month for North American leaders summit

Biden (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

President Joe Biden will travel to Mexico next month for North American leaders summit, White House officials said Tuesday.

Biden will meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Jan. 9-10. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the leaders will discuss economic stability, security and immigration, among other topics.

The summit comes as the U.S. and Mexico are grappling with surging numbers of migrants at the Southern border, following news the U.S. government was ending COVID-era emergency health restrictions that allowed border officers to immediately expel migrants arriving to the border. The Supreme Court on Monday paused the end of the restrictions as it hears arguments from 19 Republican-led states that have asked that the restrictions remain in place.

Last year, the three leaders met in Washington. Mexico announced the summit last month but the U.S. had not confirmed. Both the United States and Canada have filed for consultations, a step that precedes lodging a trade complaint, over López Obrador’s policy of favoring Mexico’s state-owned power company. Both countries say favoring a domestic company over U.S. and Canadian firms violates the U.S.-Mexico Canada free trade agreement, or USMCA.