About 10,000 migrants and asylum seekers arrived at the US-Mexico border last week, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday, amid record numbers heading north across the continent.
About 6,000 people cross into southern Mexico each day, López Obrador said, and an even larger number reach the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Last week, 10,000 migrants reached the northern border every day,” López Obrador said at his usual morning press conference.
In September, the number of migrants reaching the US-Mexico border was on track to approach or exceed previous monthly highs.
López Obrador said authorities must address the root causes of migration, including helping people find work and improve their living conditions.
“We need to build bridges of understanding and cooperation so that people are not forced to migrate,” he said ahead of an upcoming meeting with foreign ministers of Latin American countries and US officials.
He also mourned the deaths of 10 Cuban immigrants who died in a traffic accident in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas on Sunday.
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