Earlier, Karen looked at a proposed plan to dispatch 1,500 American soldiers to the southern border. But that wasn’t the only immigration news breaking this week. One Homeland Security official was meeting with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador this week and hammering out a new agreement. AMLO has allegedly agreed to keep more migrants from certain countries on his side of the border while their applications are being processed. In exchange, America will agree to accept up to 30,000 people per month from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua, provided they legally apply for entry, have a sponsor, and pass a background check. Where did this sudden interest in border security on Biden’s part come from? You don’t suppose it has something to do with an upcoming election, do you? (Associated Press)

U.S. and Mexican officials have agreed on new immigration policies meant to deter illegal border crossings while also opening up other pathways ahead of an expected increase in migrants following the end of pandemic restrictions next week.

Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall spent Tuesday meeting with Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and other top officials, emerging with a five-point plan, according to statements from both nations.

Under the agreement, Mexico will continue to accept migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua who are turned away at the border, and up to 100,000 individuals from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador who have family in the U.S. will be eligible to live and work there.

In times like these, you take what you can get I suppose. If we’re going to be seeing some actual cooperation from Mexico in shutting down the endless flow of illegal migrants over the border, that will be a welcome change indeed. But that’s a rather large “if.” AMLO has made some helpful noises before, but you’ve probably noticed that he hasn’t lifted a finger to shut down the cartels that are now controlling large sections of our border. We’ll keep an eye on the situation because actions speak louder than words.

Returning to Joe Biden for a moment, what are we to make of this announcement? Are we really supposed to just nod our heads and pretend that the last two-plus years never happened? The time to do something about this was the day Biden was sworn in. Literally millions of illegal aliens have already crossed into the United States on Biden’s watch and we have no idea where most of them are or even who they are.

The real explanation for this should be obvious. Whoever is running Biden’s reelection campaign must have finally noticed that people are very unhappy about the border crisis and now even members of Joe’s own party are openly criticizing him. They’re probably hoping that if they can largely stem the flow of illegal migrants, his approval rating might creep back up a few points.

There also remains a question as to whether or not it’s still even possible to seal up very much of the border, with or without AMLO’s help. The cartels have established themselves firmly and are running a 24/7 operation down there. Without a functional wall, there are too many places for them to smuggle drugs and people across. And they’re smart enough to engage in diversion tactics and find the spots with the least law enforcement coverage.

Joe Biden is certainly welcome to try. And if he manages to make a significant improvement in the situation I will give him credit for it. But This may turn out to be too little, too late. Much of the damage has already been done.