U.S. and Mexico Begin Talks on New Security Agreement

It is rooted in the idea that we have a shared responsibility as neighbors and as partners to improve security for the people of our nations. That’s what it boils down to, and it marks the beginning of a new chapter in Mexico- U.S. security cooperation, one that will see us working as equal partners in defining and tackling shared priorities, one that seeks to address the root causes of the security challenges that we face, including inequity, corruption, impunity, and one that does that not only by modernizing law enforcement, but also strengthening public health, the rule of law and broader- based economic opportunity. We have to tackle the root causes of irregular migration, even as we’re dealing with the immediate challenges. Ultimately, the only solution is to deal with the root causes, because again, it is not as if most people, from wherever they are, wake up one morning and say, ‘Wouldn’t it be a great thing to leave everything I know behind — my family, my community, my culture, my language, everything — and make this incredibly hazardous journey and come to — try to come to the United States and also, by the way, not be able to get there.” There are very powerful drivers that give people a sense that they have no choice. We have to be able to address that.

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