Mexico welcomes Biden's ending wall construction

TOLUCA, Mexico

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday welcomed US President Joe Biden's migration policy, praising the Democrat's decision to halt the construction of the southern border wall.

"It is an issue that we celebrate because the wall has been built for some time. To be objective, both the Democratic and Republican presidents have built its sections. And now President Biden decides that he is no longer going to build the wall on the border. So, it is a historical event," said Lopez Obrador in a press conference.

The Mexican leader also celebrated the end of the Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP, a "remain in Mexico" policy enforced by then-President Donald Trump in 2019.

The policy coerced by Trump through the threat of implementing tariffs to imported goods from Mexico forced migrants trying to get into the US to wait in Mexico for their migration resolution or deportation. The initiative saw 65,000 non-Mexican migrants contained in Mexican territory.

"We have in Mexico around 6,000 migrants waiting for their issues to be resolved. It would be convenient that this agreement is fulfilled and that they wait in the United States," said the president.

Lopez Obrador called on Central Americans planning to cross the US border on Thursday to not do so. He noted US authorities are not authorizing entry to American territory, saying: "The policy is to support migrants, but it will take time to apply the immigration policy."

Lopez Obrador said he expected Biden administration to support Central American countries.