President Joe Biden listens as Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
OAN NEWSROOM
UPDATED 6:45 AM PT – Wednesday, July 13, 2022
According to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a number of Biden administration policies are getting out of hand. On Tuesday, both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed the Mexican leader to the White House. This meeting came after Lopez Obrador snubbed Biden last month when he refused to attend the Summit of the Americas, which was held in Los Angeles.
During Tuesday’s meetings, the Mexican president lamented US gas prices are too high and his country has been saving oil to export to the US since the energy crisis started. This comes as the Biden administration has begged authoritarian governments in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela for oil instead of America’s allies. Meanwhile, Lopez Obrador stressed he’s saving Americans in border towns some money by letting them cross the border to buy cheaper gas.
“While prices of gasoline goes down in the United States, I hope that Congress approves your proposal of (lowering gas prices),” he stated. “In the meantime, while we’re waiting for gasoline prices to go down, we are allowing Americans who live near our border to fill up their vehicles (with gasoline) on the Mexican side at lower prices.”
Additionally, the Mexican president slammed the state of the US-Mexico border. He said the Biden administration needs to take steps to transform the border and move away from the status quo. Lopez Obrador proposed the Biden administration to create new pathways for Mexican and Central American nationals to gain legal entry into the US. He explained that he hopes this will reduce “irregular migration patterns while opening up new economic opportunities.”
Last week, there were over 13,000 illegal crossings in the Del Rio sector and 8,400 in the Rio Grande Valley.
Our border is porous, and thousands are flooding across. Yet Biden still wants to end the Remain in Mexico Policy and Title 42.
We need a competent border policy.
— Chuck Fleischmann (@RepChuck) July 12, 2022
The Biden administration has seen record levels of illegal immigration, resulting in the exhaustion of border patrol resources and the deaths of migrants. Just last month, more than 50 migrants were found dead in a tractor trailer in San Antonio, Texas. Lopez Obrador confirmed most of those migrants were Mexican nationals and stressed the need for better border security is urgent.
“Regularize now and give certainty to migrants who, since many years, work in an honest manner and contribute to the development of this great nation,” he stressed.
The socialist president also praised Mexican citizens, touting their work in America bolsters the economies of both the US and Mexico.
“I just want to tell you that I love you very much, that love is repaid with love,” stated Lopez Obrador. “That tomorrow at the White House we are going to talk about the rights of migrants and that we love you very much for all that you do, because you work here and you send money to your families. And thanks to that, our economy is getting back on its feet.”
In the meantime, the two presidents agreed on a $1.5 billion package to improve “smart technologies” at America’s southern border. Biden also claimed he has launched a multi-lateral operation to take down human and drug smugglers that he claims has already led to the arrests of more than 3,000 smugglers. Lopez Obrador highlighted the importance of cooperation between the US and Mexico.