Exclusive-Biden urges Mexico to take migrants under COVID expulsion order he promised to end

FILE PHOTO: Venezuelan migrants wait in line to board a bus to New York at the Centro de los Trabajadores Agricolas Fronterizos in El Paso, Texas, U.S., September 2, 2022. REUTERS/Paul Ratje/File Photo

WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -As border crossings have soared to record highs, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is quietly pressing Mexico to accept more migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela under a COVID-19 expulsion order that the White House has publicly sought to end, seven U.S. and three Mexican officials said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised concerns about an escalating number of crossings by migrants from the three countries during a visit on Monday to Mexico City, two U.S. and two Mexican officials told Reuters, but Mexico did not promise any specific actions.