Concertina wire lines the path as members of Congress tour an area near the Texas-Mexico border, Jan 3, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (PHOTO / AP)

MEXICO CITY - Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena on Monday highlighted the importance of Mexican migrant workers to the US economy, and again urged Washington to regularize their legal status.

Mexicans working in the United States contribute over $324 billion annually to the nation's economy in such essential sectors as agriculture, services and construction, Barcena said at a press conference.

"The regularization of Mexicans is not unprecedented. In 1986, 3 million Mexicans were regularized," she said.

In December 2023, US Customs and Border Protection recorded nearly 250,000 encounters with migrants crossing the US-Mexico border, the highest monthly total on record

Mexico is requesting the United States to make "a similar and fair gesture" to regularize undocumented Mexicans who have worked there for more than five years, including half a million young people protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act.

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The influx of migrants at the US-Mexico border rose to unprecedented levels at the end of 2023. In December 2023, US Customs and Border Protection recorded nearly 250,000 encounters with migrants crossing the US-Mexico border, the highest monthly total on record.

To curb mass emigration, the United States needs to approve a budget of 20 billion dollars annually to promote development in Latin America and the Caribbean, Barcena said, calling on Washington to lift its sanctions on Venezuela and trade embargo against Cuba.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has already proposed these measures to his US counterpart Joe Biden, along with others, such as controlling the flow of US weapons into Mexico, said the minister.

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According to the foreign ministry, Mexico is one of the few countries that has to grapple with all phases of the immigration cycle, from being a source of migrants to being a transit country, a destination and a point of return for deportees.

There are 37.3 million Mexicans living in the United States, with some 5.3 million being undocumented, according to the Mexican government.