On June 14-15, 2021, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas visited Mexico during his first international trip as Secretary — a reflection of the Department of Homeland Security’s commitment to a close and deep partnership with the Government of Mexico.
“I am proud of the partnership we are building with Mexico,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “I am looking forward to our work together on a wide range of issues, including our emergence from the pandemic, the facilitation of lawful trade and travel, border security, the fight against narcotics trafficking, and the building of safe and legal pathways for those seeking humanitarian relief. We are partners, we are neighbors, and we share both challenges and opportunities.”
During the visit, Secretary Mayorkas met individually with Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Relations Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Rosa Icela Rodríguez Velázquez, Secretary of Finance and Public Credit Arturo Herrera Gutiérrez, Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero, and the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico. He also met with DHS employees at the U.S. Embassy.
Secretaries Mayorkas and Ebrard discussed ways to facilitate legitimate trade and travel, including how to safely ease current pandemic-related restrictions on travel across our shared land border. The Secretaries also discussed strengthening efforts to address southbound weapons flows through increased joint inspections and investigations, migration issues, and the importance of further securing our land, sea, and air ports of entry.
Secretary Mayorkas spoke with Secretaries Ebrard and Rodríguez about the United States’ multi-prong approach to stemming irregular migration, including addressing the root causes of migration, expanding lawful pathways for migration in the region, expanding regional countries’ capacity to process asylum seekers, and overhauling border and asylum processing at the U.S. southwest border. The Secretaries also discussed the importance of multilateral engagement to address the need for regional solutions. Secretary Mayorkas and Attorney General Gertz discussed opportunities for continued cooperation.
During his separate conversations with Secretary Herrera and the American Chamber of Commerce, Secretary Mayorkas reaffirmed the centrality of trade and travel to DHS’s mission, including the need to expand cooperation with the Government of Mexico and the private sector to spur economic growth along and on both sides of their shared border. Secretary Mayorkas also discussed the importance of modernizing border infrastructure, increasing information sharing, and investing in new technologies critical to shared economic prosperity.
Finally, Secretary Mayorkas met with DHS employees assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. He expressed his appreciation for their service and continued dedication to the mission, and to heard their perspective on key priorities.
