Mexico will relay its anger to senior U.S. officials on Thursday about a
bid by President Donald Trump to deport non-Mexican illegal migrants south
across the
border, the latest point of tension between the two neighbors.
The U.S. government is seeking to deport many illegal immigrants to
Mexico if they entered the United States from there, regardless of their
nationality, prompting a fiery response from Mexican officials.
Calling the measure "unilateral" and "unprecedented,"
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said the new U.S. immigration
guidelines would top the agenda of meetings in Mexico City with U.S. Secretary
of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
Washington has tried to downplay the tensions, which follow arguments
between the United States and Mexico over Trump's vow to build a wall on the
border and his attempts to browbeat Mexico into giving concessions on trade.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on the eve of the
meetings that the U.S. relationship with Mexico was "phenomenal" and
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made conciliatory comments on Thursday about
trade.
Asked about Videgaray's rejection of Trump's bid to deport non-Mexican
illegal migrants to Mexico, Spicer said he expected Tillerson and Kelly will
"talk through the implementation of the executive order."
The stakes are high for the United States, since Mexico has warned that a
breakdown in relations could affect its extensive cooperation on the fight
against narcotics and on stemming the flow of Central American migrants that
reach the U.S. border
The Mexican side plans to seek more information on Trump's executive
orders at the summit, according to notes from a senior official that outlines
Mexico's planned talking points at the meeting.
Officials plan to say, "We are worried about the consequences that
these can have for Mexican nationals," in the United States, the notes
show.
As part of its response, Videgaray said Mexico's foreign ministry would
get involved in legal cases in the United States where it considered the rights
of Mexicans had been violated.
"The Mexican government will take all the measures legally possible
to defend the human rights of Mexicans abroad, especially in the United
States," Videgaray said.
TRADE 'PLAN B'
The visit, which will include meetings with Mexican President Enrique
Pena Nieto, as well as military, finance and interior officials, is supposed to
focus on border security, law enforcement and trade, according to the state
department.
Slapping tariffs on U.S. goods would be a "plan B" for Mexico
if renegotiations over a new mutually-beneficial trade deal fail, Mexican
Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Thursday morning ahead of the
talks. [E1N1FF00S]
Guajardo said he expected North American Free Trade Agreement
negotiations with both the United States and Canada to begin this summer and
conclude by the end of this year.
However, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said on Thursday he did not see any
changes to NAFTA in the short-term
But hopes for a thawing in relations are low, after a series of botched
meetings last month deepened tensions between the historic allies.
"The relationship... is at such a historic low that it would be
wishful thinking to assume that new concrete agenda items to advance [it] will
come at this point," Jason Marczak, director of the Atlantic Council's
Latin America Economic Growth Initiative said.
Pena Nieto abruptly canceled a planned January summit with Trump after
the real estate mogul suggested the Mexican leader should not come if he
refused to pay for a border wall.
And Trump signed his first executive orders to punish sanctuary cities
and build the wall, which could cost around $21.6 billion, the first time
Videgaray traveled to Washington to negotiate with counterparts last month.
Trump has also threatened to rip up the trade deal between the United
States and Mexico if he cannot renegotiate it to favor American interests.
Trump's administration also plans to hire 15,000 more immigration and
border agents, while subjecting immigrants who cannot show they have been in
the country for more than two years to "expedited removal."
*REUTER*
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