Posted on July 14, 2022

Mexico to Pay $1.5 Billion for US Border, Source Says

ABC News, July 12, 2022

Mexico on Tuesday agreed to contribute $1.5 billion to a joint initiative with the U.S. to improve infrastructure along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a person familiar with the commitment.

The agreement came on the same day President Joe Biden hosted his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, for a meeting in the Oval Office.

Part of their discussions were expected to include a commitment from the two countries to carry out “a multi-year, joint, U.S.-Mexico border infrastructure modernization effort for projects along the 2,000 mile border,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters on Monday ahead of the meeting.

The infrastructure project is intended to improve processing and security along the border, the person familiar with the agreement said.

Biden alluded to Mexico’s investment in remarks alongside López Obrador before their meeting, saying, “We’re also making historic investments in infrastructure modernization across our 2,000-mile border with Mexico.”

He noted the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law he championed last year was “delivering $3.4 billion to major construction projects at the ports of entry between our two countries to make our border safer and more efficient for people, trade and commerce.”

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When Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015, he promised: “I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.”

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