Trump accidentally leaks more of US-Mexico migrant deal
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump accidentally revealed on Tuesday that Mexico agreed to take stronger legal action to halt Central American migrants if its initial efforts to stem the flow don’t show results in 45 days.
In bright sunshine outside the White House, Trump waved what he said was the text of an agreement Mexican and US officials signed on Friday to avert the application of tariffs on their exports to the US.
Photographs of the document revealed that Mexico appeared to pledge to enact or enforce certain domestic laws if Washington is not satisfied with the results of its first promised efforts – deploying 6,000 National Guardsmen to reinforce its southern border and expanding its policy of taking back asylum seekers as the US processes their claims.
If, after 45 days, t he US government “determines at its discretion” t hat t he results aren’t enough, t he document says, “the Government of Mexico will ta ke a ll necessar y steps under domestic law to bring t he agreement into force”.
The document gives the Mexican government another 45 days to achieve that.
It was not clear what specific measures the Mexican government would have to take.
Washington said last week it wanted Mexico to agree to a “safe third countr y” policy, in which migrants entering Mexican territor y must apply for asylum t here rat her t han in the US.
Trump waved the ostensible agreement in front of reporters amid questions about whether his administration really did reach a substantial agreement last week to stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of migrants who pass through Mexico to enter the US.
The initia l deal appeared to repeat prev ious undertakings the Mexicans
have made.
But Trump has repeatedly suggested there is another secret part of the deal that would require more of Mexico.
“Mexico is doing a great job at the border, really helping us,” he said on Tuesday.
“They have been working very hard. We’re doing very well together. Good relationship.”
‘Everything is right here’
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who led Mexico’s negotiating team in Washington, repeated his denial that there is a secret annex to the deal.
“You’re not going to see it anywhere. Absolutely everything is right here. Everything. There’s nothing that’s not in this report,” he told a news conference in Mexico City, holding up the nine-page briefing he plans to deliver to the Mexican Senate.
That document says the countries discussed a “possible deal” to process asylum seekers in whichever country they arrive in first.
If Washington deems the results of the initial measures insufficient after 45 days, Mexico City has another 45 days to implement the agreement.
Ebrard evaded reporters’ questions on what exactly that additional deal would look like.
“Mexico is not going to fail. Mexico is open to negotiations if we fa il, but we’re not going to fa il,” he said.
Pressed on what Mexico will do if Trump deems otherwise, he said, “I’m not going to reveal Mexico’s strategy . . . That wouldn’t be prudent”.
Mexico’s leftist government has insisted tighter borders cannot be the only solution, insisting on the need to protect migrants’ rights and fund major infrastructure and development projects in Central America.
But Mexico faces huge pressure to deliver immediate results at t he USMexican border, where American officia ls detained 144,000 migrants last month, up 32 per cent from April – including a record 89,000 in fa milies.
Ebrard said Mexico would begin deploying its National Guard to the southern border on Wednesday.