WASHINGTON —
A month after he boycotted a major regional summit in Los Angeles and snubbed the Biden administration, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador came to Washington on Tuesday for wide-ranging talks with his U.S. counterpart.
Administration officials have sought to downplay the lingering tensions and U.S. frustrations ahead of talks between President Biden and López Obrador that White House officials see as key to addressing immigration, crime and the economy. López Obrador says he wants to talk about inflation and how to cut it. Biden wants the Mexican government to continue to play an active role in stopping the arrival to the U.S. southern border of thousands of people, many seeking illegal entry.
López Obrador has been harshly critical of U.S. immigration policy and is expected to seek more visas for Mexican workers and businesspeople.
“We expect the focus to be a lot on how we can expand legal pathways, with a particular focus on labor pathways from Central America but also from other parts of the region,” a senior Biden administration official said, briefing reporters ahead of the meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 8:15 a.m. Pacific at the White House,
The official said several border infrastructure projects will be announced as part of the meeting, but details were not immediately available, and it was unclear the work and repairs will go beyond what has already been planned.