No US plan for mass expulsions
MEXICO: Two of United States President Donald Trump’s cabinet secretaries and their Mexican counterparts have emphasised cooperation and friendship after meeting in Mexico - but their public remarks seem unlikely to quell profound tensions between the two countries or clear up confusion over the plans of the Trump administration.
US Secretary of Homeland Secretary John F Kelly said yesterday that there would be no large-scale deportations from the US or use of military force along the border comments aimed at allaying Mexican fears about the Trump administration’s ongoing immi- gration crackdown.
‘‘There will be no - repeat, no mass deportations,’’ Kelly said at a news conference at the Mexican Foreign Ministry. ‘‘There will be no use of military force in immigration.’’
Earlier in the day, Trump had lauded Kelly’s efforts along the border and labelled ongoing operations there a ‘‘military operation’’.
Kelly appeared at the news conference with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, along with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray and Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong.
The two US officials were on a two-day trip meant in part to repair relations with Mexico at a time when many Mexicans view the Trump administration as hostile to them.
The White House and Mexican officials have clashed on a number of issues, including Trump’s vow to build a wall along the border and his pledges to step up deportations and impose a new tax on goods imported from Mexico.
‘‘In our meetings, we jointly acknowledged that, in a relationship filled with vibrant colours, two strong sovereign countries from time to time will have differences,’’ Tillerson said.
Videgaray emphasised that it was a ‘‘legal impossibility’’ for Mexico to accept ‘‘unilateral’’ decisions imposed by another government - an apparent reference to a Trump administration proposal to send undocumented Central Americans detained along the US-Mexico border back to Mexico, even though they are not Mexican citizens.
He expressed the nation’s ‘‘worry’’ for the rights of Mexican nationals in the US as the Trump administration embarks on an a wide-ranging crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Videgaray also referred directly to the ‘‘negative feelings that without doubt are prevalent’’ between the two neighbours with deep economic, social, political and cultural ties.
‘‘It will be a long road to construct agreements with the United States, but today we have taken a step in the right direction,’’ he said.
Earlier, Mexican newspaper La Jornada published excerpts of what it described as a private conversation between Videgaray and Mexican lawmakers, in which the foreign minister spoke in much harsher terms about relations with the Trump administration.
Videgaray reportedly said Mexico was preparing for a long ‘‘battle’’ and was prepared to retaliate with new tariffs if necessary.
He was also quoted as saying that time was on Mexico’s side. ’’Time has been wearing down President Donald Trump. He has had missteps that are placing him against the weight of reality.’’
Trump was also recognising that the position of US president was not ‘‘omnipotent’’, he reportedly said.