This post has been updated to include a statement from a White House national security spokesperson regarding the situation of the deleted phrase.
The White House quietly altered its statement on the migration crisis after top Biden officials took a trip to Mexico amid ongoing record-high migrant crossings.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall visited Mexico on Wednesday for a meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in an attempt to pressure the country to help the U.S. manage the crisis on its southern border.
Following the meeting, the White House press office released a joint statement with Mexico via email that named “democratic decline” as a root cause of migration. The version of the statement posted to the White House website is identical to the emailed version, with one key difference — the phrase “democratic decline” is missing. (RELATED: Biden’s Tenure Marked By Major Increase In Illegal Migrant Entries To These US Territories)
The Spanish-language version of the joint statement released by Mexico’s government also lacks the phrase.
“The two countries reaffirmed their existing commitments on fostering an orderly, humane, and regular migration,” the emailed statement read. “This includes reinforcing our partnership to address the root causes of migration, such as poverty, inequality, democratic decline, and violence, and for the two countries’ initiative for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.”
The deleted phrase was first reported on by The Hill.
The “democratic decline” language was added to the statement by a U.S. official following the meeting with Obrador, an official with knowledge of the situation told The Hill. The White House did not clarify to the outlet why the phrase was deleted to the Hill.
“Due to a version control issue, the initial version of the document that we posted online included an additional phrase that had not been discussed with the Mexicans,” a national security spokesperson told the Daily Caller. “Promoting democratic values in the region is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration and we have worked with Mexico to promote these values, including most recently in Guatemala and Venezuela.”
A US Border Patrol officer directs immigrants as they wait to be processed at a US Border Patrol transit center after they crossed the border from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on December 22, 2023. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
Despite the visit from top Biden officials, Mexico and the U.S. did not announce any new initiatives to tackle the border crisis, but instead merely reaffirmed their partnership on the issue. The meeting came at a time of heightened crisis after U.S. authorities in November recorded a record number of migrant encounters at the border, compared to previous Novembers.
The joint statement following the meeting did not mention the caravan of nearly 8,000 migrants currently moving toward the U.S.-Mexico border. The two countries did agree to meet again about the migration crisis in Jan. 2024. (RELATED: Meet The Man Orchestrating The Endless Torrent Of Migrant Caravans Heading Toward The Border)
“[López Obrador] stressed the need to continue the diplomatic and political engagement with all countries in the region, as well as investing in ambitious development programs throughout the entire hemisphere of the Americas,” the Thursday statement read. “Both delegations underlined the efforts that the Biden administration is pursuing through development assistance and humanitarian aid, as well as advancing new private investments in the region.”