Mexico's López Obrador says he called Harris 'president' after meetings on migration

close

Video

Tomi Lahren slams Kamala Harris over handling of border crisis

'Outnumbered' panel reacts to the vice president stating she will finally make a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said this week that in-person meetings on the migration crisis with Vice President Kamala Harris went so well that he called her "president."

"It's a completely new phase," López Obrador said during a news conference about the meetings on Wednesday, according to Reuters. "It was such a good meeting that I called her 'president.’"

HARRIS SAYS SHE WILL VISIT THE SOUTHERN BORDER BUT DOES NOT INDICATE WHEN 

June 8, 2021: Vice President Kamala Harris and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador arrive for a bilateral meeting at the National Palace in Mexico City. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Harris was in Mexico earlier this week as part of a two-day trip to the region to solve what the White House has described as the "root causes" behind the crisis at the southern border -- including poverty, violence and climate change in Central America.

Harris has come under fire for failing to visit the border, instead holding virtual meetings with officials and business leaders -- before jetting off on the two-day visit this week.

HARRIS MEETS WITH MEXICAN PRESIDENT AMID CRITICISM OVER MIGRANT REMARKS, LACK OF BORDER VISIT 

Harris too declared her visit a success, claiming she had been "successful in making progress."

In Mexico, after the meetings with López Obrador, she highlighted a $130 million U.S. investment in Mexican workers’ protections and labor reform, as well as further partnering to address human trafficking and smuggling organizations and a strategic partnership to address root causes of migration in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

However, when asked if she had got an agreement from Mexico to take back more migrant families turned back from the U.S. due to Title 42 public health protections, Harris said, "We didn’t discuss Title 42."

HARRIS SAYS MEXICO'S REFUSAL TO TAKE BACK MIGRANT FAMILIES WAS NOT DISCUSSED DURING TRIP 

Video

She has also said that she will visit the border, but has so far not given a date for that visit -- despite being appointed to her role in March.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

López Obrador reportedly said that he was happy that security aid for Mexico was not a topic of conversation, saying that "we don’t want military cooperation."

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will visit the country next week to follow up from Harris’ visit.