THE NEW YORK TIMES – The government of Mexico said Friday that it disagreed with the Trump administration’s decision to roll out a policy that forces asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while they pursue their cases in the United States — but said it would take in some of the asylum seekers anyway.
In a statement, the Mexican government said that it “does not agree with this unilateral measure implemented by the government of the United States” and outlined the conditions that it had negotiated since the Department of Homeland Security announced the plan a month ago.
Roberto Velasco, a spokesman for Mexico’s Foreign Ministry, said it was “trying to respond to U.S. policy” with respect to the nation’s own immigration policy. “We’re making a sovereign decision to allow some people into Mexico with very clear limits based on what our laws and international commitments allow,” he said.
The policy, which the Trump administration said Thursday it would begin to implement, marks an escalation in the administration’s attempt to rein in illegal immigration and a dramatic reversal of the decades-long practice of allowing applicants to request protection from within the United States or at official ports of entry, and to remain in the country while their cases wind through immigration courts.
Editor’s Note: Click here to read the full story by reporters Azam Ahmed, Miriam Jordan and Elisabeth Malkin in The New York Times.
Editor’s Note: The main image accompanying the above news clip shows members of a caravan of migrants from Central America entering the United States border and customs facility in the hope of applying for asylum, in Tijuana, Mexico. (File Photo: REUTERS/Edgard Garrido)
