Vice President Mike Pence will meet with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Saturday during the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, according to Jarrod Agen, Pence’s communications director.
Plans for the meeting were finalized, a White House press pool report said Friday afternoon.
The announcement comes after border states, including California, Texas, and Arizona, sent National Guard troops in the past week to assist with securing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Prior to the deployment of the troops, Trump told reporters “we’ll probably keep them or a large portion” of the National Guard troops at the border until the erection of a border wall, according to press pool reports.
Trump has long called for a wall along the southern border and has exerted pressure on lawmakers to secure funds for constructing it. He got $1.6 billion for wall construction in the omnibus bill he signed last month, which was far less than the $25 billion he wanted.
The meeting between Pence and Nieto will also come as talks concerning the North American Free Trade Agreement have seen some progress. According to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, a renegotiation of the trade deal between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada is likely to be accomplished before the end of 2018 — potentially as soon as next month.
