On July 13, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen joined Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin in Mexico City for meetings with Mexican government officials. While in Mexico, Secretary Nielsen participated in discussions with President Enrique Peña Nieto, Secretary of Foreign Relations Luis Videgaray Caso, Secretary of Governance Alfonso Navarrete Prida, and President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Secretary Nielsen also joined Secretary Pompeo and Secretary Mnuchin for a meet and greet with U.S. Embassy employees and thanked Department of Homeland Security personnel in country for their service.
During the meetings with Mexican government officials, Secretary Nielsen reaffirmed the importance of the close U.S. alliance with Mexico, our enduring partnership on issues of mutual importance, and the need to continue confronting shared challenges together.
The Secretary proposed specific ways to continue and deepen cooperation on confronting illegal migration and on building regional asylum capacity. She also emphasized the need for governments, international organizations, and the private sector to develop a comprehensive regional approach to stemming Central American migrant flows, countering human smuggling, and fighting back against trafficking. She discussed options for engagement with public and private sector partners throughout the region to increase prosperity and diminish migratory push factors. The Secretary reaffirmed her commitment to partnering to protect communities and vulnerable populations.
The Secretary also spoke with the Mexican officials on decisively addressing security challenges, including joint operations to combat dangerous transnational criminal organizations and drug smugglers.
These meetings are part of Secretary Nielsen’s ongoing engagement with Mexican and Central American leaders regarding efforts to combat transnational criminal organizations, address drug smuggling, and stop illegal immigration. Earlier this week Secretary Nielsen led a U.S. delegation to Guatemala to meet with regional officials to discuss accelerating joint efforts on security and migration in preparation for a major summit in the United States later this summer.
