Biden Says Mexico an 'Equal' but Will Not Share U.S. Vaccines With Its Southern Neighbor

By Mary Anne Webber First Posted: Mar 01, 2021 10:48 PM EST

President Joe Biden has offered his assurances to Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that he considered the country an "equal" during a virtual meeting on Monday.

The Biden administration is focusing on undoing some of the immigration policies established during former President Donald Trump's administration.

Biden noted that the U.S. and Mexico have not always been perfect neighbors. However, he said the two countries are safe when there is a collaborative relationship, especially when it comes to the pandemic.

Biden said that during his time as vice president in the Obama administration, they made a commitment that they will look at Mexico as an equal and not as someone from south of the border.

"You are equal... And what you do in Mexico and how you succeed impacts dramatically on what the rest of the hemisphere will look like," Biden told López Obrador as Fox News reported.

López Obrador expressed his gratitude to Biden for communicating his desire to base their relationship on equality and respect.

Biden's Immigration Plan Affecting Mexico

The Biden administration has already imposed several measures to reestablish the country's immigration system, starting with pausing the funding for the border wall.

The border wall was one of the Trump administration's priorities that aim to prevent illegal immigration from Mexico.

Biden has already taken action to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has given protection to young undocumented immigrants. He had also revoked Trump's pause on green card applicants entering the country due to the pandemic.

Aside from that, Biden has also ended the former administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy that allowed immigration enforcement officials to send non-Mexican asylum seekers to Mexico as they waited for their cases to be arbitrated in the U.S. court system.

Critics are worried that this move could lead to a surge in illegal border crossings, with arrests and detentions at the U.S.-Mexico border peaked at about 78,000 in January. This was more than double recorded from the previous year.

Biden is Not Considering Sharing the COVID-19 Vaccine With Mexico

Before Biden's meeting with López Obrador, the administration has downplayed the prospect of sharing COVID-19 vaccines with Mexico, saying it focuses more on getting its own population vaccinated. The pandemic has killed more than 500,000 Americans, according to a Reuters report.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration wanted to ensure that every American will be vaccinated. Psaki added that once they accomplish that, they would be "happy to discuss further steps."

Biden noted that they would discuss the issue at the meeting's outset. However, according to a National Post report, the official statement released after the meeting made no mention of COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

Meanwhile, Biden predicted that the U.S. would have enough supply by late July to vaccinate all Americans. Officials have already used 76.9 million doses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The said doses are enough for 23 percent of the population to get two doses recommended for the vaccines' full protection.

On the other hand, Mexico has vaccinated about 2.5 million doses so far, which is enough for one percent of its population. López Obrador earlier said he would ask Biden to consider sharing part of the U.S. vaccine supply.

Reports said that Mexico plans to ask for a loan of the U.S. vaccine supplies to be paid back when the shots that Mexico has contracts for are delivered later this year.