Bennet Travels to Mexico City to Advance U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation and Trade Relationship

Sep 17, 2026 | Press Releases

U.S. Senator Michael Bennet with Mexican officials at the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs in Mexico City

Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Finance Committee, visited Mexico City, Mexico last week to advance U.S.-Mexico intelligence, security, and trade cooperation. Bennet met with senior U.S. Embassy and Mexican leaders, including Ambassador Ronald D. Johnson, Secretary of the Navy Admiral Raymundo Morales Ángeles, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for North America Cristina Planter Riebeling, as well as key officials from the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, Secretariat of National Defense, National Guard, and National Institute of Migration. He also met representatives of leading American businesses and international migration organizations in Mexico.

During the visit, Bennet discussed shared security challenges including cartel drug trafficking and violence; U.S.-Mexico intelligence and security cooperation to address those challenges, as well as unauthorized migration; and opportunities to strengthen U.S.-Mexico trade, including by renewing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), advancing his Americas Act, and removing President Trump's across-the-board tariffs.

"My time in Mexico City reaffirmed my commitment to a mutually beneficial U.S.-Mexico relationship, which is crucial to ensuring security and prosperity on both sides of the border," said Bennet. "Our two countries face shared challenges that require continued intelligence and security cooperation. We must continue working together to address them while respecting each other's sovereignty. While we have made progress reducing unauthorized crossings at the border, a sustainable solution requires comprehensive immigration reform that I have fought for in Congress. We must also build upon our economic ties, which are crucial for Colorado farmers, ranchers, businesses and workers."

Bennet, who most recently visited Mexico in 2023, has long played a leading role in supporting the U.S.-Mexico relationship and U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere, and fighting for comprehensive immigration reform.

He leads the Americas Act, which the Financial Times has endorsed as a key effort to counter China's influence in the Western Hemisphere. He has called for the renewal of the bipartisan U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and steadfastly opposed President Trump's reckless Mexico and Canada tariffs. Bennet passed legislation in last year's Intelligence Authorization Act requiring an intelligence assessment on threats to U.S. national security interests in the Western Hemisphere - including China and Russia's growing presence - and the extent to which greater U.S. cooperation with regional partners could address these threats.

Additionally, Bennet has led bipartisan efforts to ensure the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) strengthens engagement with countries including Mexico to help them develop CFIUS-like mechanisms to review sensitive foreign investments, particularly from China. Following U.S. cooperation with Mexico, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum recently submitted legislation to create a CFIUS-like framework for Mexico. Bennet has also long pressed to stop the illegal trafficking of American firearms across the southern border into Mexico, which account for approximately 80 percent of firearms seized from criminal organizations in Mexico.

In 2013, Bennet was a part of the "Gang of Eight," a bipartisan group of senators that worked together to draft the last comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The Senate passed it with overwhelming bipartisan support, but it stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives. Earlier this year, Bennet introduced bills to reform the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection to prevent the detention of children and ICE activity in sensitive locations; align standards for federal immigration officers with those expected from local law enforcement; and ensure oversight and civil rights protections at detention centers.

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