Mexico to add 825 immigration agents on its borders to curb migrant influx
MEXICO CITY — Mexico will post 825 additional immigration agents on its borders as part of an agreement with the United States to reduce migration flows, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard announced Friday.
A planned deployment of 6,000 troops on the Guatemalan border, meanwhile, will be completed Tuesday, the minister said at a joint news conference with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Thousands of migrants cross daily from Guatemala into Mexico on their way to the U.S., which threatened Mexico with import duties unless it stopped the influx.
Mexico has also agreed to receive migrants who have been sent back by the U.S. and to host them while its northern neighbor is handling their asylum requests.
However, Mexico wants to limit the numbers of such migrants, Mr. Ebrard said.
Meanwhile, the head of Mexico’s migration authority, Tonatiuh Guillen, announced his resignation.
Mr. Guillen didn’t give any reason for his decision, according to an announcement published by the National Institute of Migration.
He had been handling a plan of granting humanitarian visas to migrants, which was canceled because the possibility of obtaining such visas was drawing more migrants into the country.
More than 670,000 migrants reached the U.S. border from Mexico since January, according to U.S. data. Most are Central Americans fleeing poverty and violence, but they also include Haitians, Cubans, Africans and Asians.
President Donald Trump announced a deal with Mexico a week ago to avoid imposing tariffs on all Mexican imports. Mexico was given 45 days to significantly reduce the number of migrants reaching the U.S.-Mexican border, or face a renewed tariff threat.