Former US ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson will step down as the Biden administration's coordinator for the southern border at the end of April, the White House announced on Fridays.

"Consistent with her commitment at the outset to serve in the administration's first 100 days, Ambassador Jacobson will retire from her role as coordinator at the end of this month," White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

"She will do so having shaped our relationship with Mexico as an equal partner, having launched our renewed efforts with the Northern Triangle nations of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, and having underscored this Administration's commitment to re-energizing the US immigration statement," Sullivan's statement added.

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Jacobson's departure comes at the US government struggles to reduce the flow of migrants coming from Central America - a mission that Jacobson was charged with leading earlier this year.

In an interview with the New York Times, Jacobson said that her role was always intended to finish at the end of April, when she had planned to leave government.

"They continue to drive toward the architecture that the President has laid out: an immigration system that is human, orderly and safe," she was quoted as saying. "I leave optimistically. The policy direction is so clearly right for our country."

AP

In March, President Biden announced that Vice President Kamala Harris would lead the US government's diplomatic efforts aimed at addressing the root causes of migration.

Roberta Jacobson heads to Mexico and Guatemala as US aims to stop migrants headed north

Jacobson told the New York Times that the decision had no bearing on her decision to step down.

"I briefed and worked in support of the Vice President's leadership on this issue," she said. "Nobody could be more delighted to see the Vice President take on that role. It didn't have anything to do with my decision."

In March, Jacobson traveled to Mexico to meet with Mexican officials alongside Juan Gonzalez, the Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere.

Jacobson, a career diplomat, previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs between 2012 and 2016. Additionally, between 2016 and 2018 she served as US Ambassador to Mexico City.