Biden to meet virtually with Mexican president amid immigration shift

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden welcomes Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. November 18, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will meet virtually with Mexican counterpart Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday as the White House faces criticism over its plan to lift COVID-era immigration restrictions at the U.S. border.

The meeting comes just a few days after a federal judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security to halt its efforts to lift a public health order known as Title 42, a COVID-era policy that allows the expulsion of migrants to prevent the spread of the virus.