Immigration chief resigns amid tensions with Trump

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s immigration chief resigned and the country’s prisons director was swiftly nominated to replace him, as the country embarks on a crackdown on irregular migration through its territory in response to U.S. pressure.

The National Immigration Institute said in a brief statement Friday that Tonatiuh Guillén thanked President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for the opportunity to serve the country, but it did not give a reason for why he presented his resignation.

“I thank Tonatiuh very much. He helped in the beginning of this government,” said López Obrador, who had asked that the immigration chief step down. “Now I am proposing as his substitute Francisco Garduño.”

Guillén is a sociologist and former academic at the prestigious Colegio de la Frontera Norte university in Tijuana. Garduño holds a law doctorate and has served as commissioner of Mexico’s penitentiary system. On Tuesday he was named to a five-person team responsible for implementing Mexico’s immigration plan reached in negotiations with Washington.

Guillén had largely remained out of the public eye during the recent tensions with the United States, when President Trump threatened stiff tariffs on all imports from Mexico if the country didn’t do more on immigration. After negotiations, Trump suspended the tariffs.

Earlier Friday, López Obrador acknowledged that controls are lax at dozens of crossings at the country’s southern border and vowed to correct the situation. Mexico has promised to deploy 6,000 members of its new National Guard to control immigration in its border region with Guatemala as part of its recent agreement with the United States.

Maria Verza is an Associated Press writer.