White House summit: AMLO promises $1.5-billion investment in border infrastructure

Mexico will purchases upgrades to 'smart' border technology to better detect contraband

Mexico will invest US $1.5 billion on border infrastructure between 2022 and 2024, according to a joint statement by President López Obrador and United States President Joe Biden.

According to a joint statement issued after the two leaders met Tuesday in the White House, the two countries are “committed like never before to completing a multi-year joint U.S.-Mexico border infrastructure modernization effort for projects along the 2,000-mile border.”

The joint effort “seeks to align priorities, unite border communities and make the flow of commerce and people more secure and efficient,” the statement said, noting that the U.S. will invest $3.4 billion in 26 projects at its northern and southern borders.

“Mexico has committed to invest $1.5 billion on border infrastructure between 2022 and 2024,” López Obrador and Biden said.

According to an unnamed New York Times source, the money will be used to improve technology that can detect contraband, while the Associated Press said the resources will be used to improve “smart” border technology.

A White House source told NBC News that the Mexican government’s $1.5 billion will go toward a range of new construction projects along its northern border to strengthen the United States’ ability to screen and process migrants. The U.S. official said the exact details of the projects are still being worked out but added the money won’t go to the construction of any kind of border wall or barrier. The aim of the projects will be to improve the speed and security of border screening rather than to deter migrants from crossing into the U.S., the source said.

White House assistant press secretary Abdullah Hasan credited Biden for Mexico’s commitment to invest in border infrastructure.

“[Former U.S. president Donald] Trump in his four years couldn’t finish a border wall, let alone get Mexico to pay for it. President Biden just got Mexico to agree to paying $1.5 billion to improve border processing and security through smart, proven border management solutions,” he tweeted.

In their joint statement, López Obrador and Biden also reaffirmed their commitment to the full implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, saying that the Mexican and U.S. governments would “make our supply chains more resilient and expand production in North America” through “active coordination of our economic policies.”

They committed to “jointly combat inflation by accelerating the facilitation of bilateral trade and reducing trade costs” and announced that Mexico will purchase up to 20,000 tons of milk powder from the United States to assist Mexican families in rural and urban communities as well as up to 1 million tonnes of fertilizer for subsistence farmers.