Mexico warns migration will not slow without more U.S. investment in Central America

Migrants, mostly Haitians, wait for asylum processing by Mexico's Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) outside a soccer stadium, in Tapachula, Mexico October 12, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Torres

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The United States needs to invest more heavily in Central America if it hopes to slow record levels of northbound migration, Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Wednesday.

Record numbers of migrants have passed through Mexico this year toward the United States, driven by economic downturns stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and drawn by the hope of more welcoming immigration policies under U.S. President Joe Biden.