No mass expulsions, U.S. says
Reassurance comes during high-level mission to Mexico
Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly said Thursday at a news conference that there would be no large-scale deportations from the United States or use of military force along the border — comments aimed at allaying Mexican fears about the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.
“There will be no — repeat, no — mass deportations,” Kelly said. “There will be no use of military force in immigration.”
Earlier in the day, Trump lauded Kelly’s efforts along the border and had labeled ongoing operations there as a “military operation.”
Kelly appeared at the news conference with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, along with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray and Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong. The two U.S. 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 toward them.
Yet while Kelly and Tillerson tried to alleviate Mexico’s concerns, Trump was fanning them further, with tough talk about “getting really bad dudes out of this country at a rate nobody has ever seen before.”
At the White House, spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump used the “military operation” phrase “as an adjective” to describe the precision with which immigration enforcement was being carried out.
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.
Mexico has been incensed that the U.S. announced — without Mexico’s sign-off — that people caught crossing the border illegally will be sent back to Mexico — even those from third countries who have no connection to Mexico.
In addition, new memos signed by Kelly this week call for prioritizing deportation for anyone charged or convicted of any crime, rather than just serious crimes.
But both countries said it was positive that the neighbors remained committed to working through the disputes diplomatically.“In our meetings, we jointly acknowledged that, in a relationship filled with vibrant colors, two strong sovereign countries from time to time will have differences,” Tillerson said. “We listened closely and carefully to each other as we respectfully and patiently raised our respective concerns.”
The U.S. Cabinet secretaries also met privately with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who recently canceled a trip to Washington over Trump’s insistence that Mexico pay for the wall.
In his comments, Videgaray emphasized that it was a “legal impossibility” for Mexico to accept “unilateral” decisions imposed by another government.
The top Mexican diplomat expressed the nation’s “worry” for the rights of Mexican nationals in the United States as the Trump administration embarks on an a wide-ranging crackdown on illegal immigrants. He also referred to the “negative feelings that without doubt are prevalent” between the two neighbors.
“It will be a long road to construct agreements with the United States, but today we have taken a step in the right direction,” Videgaray said. “The differences between Mexico and the United States remain, and we will have to work to arrive at agreements that will be in the interest of Mexico and Mexicans.”
Earlier, the 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.
In the reported remarks, Videgaray said Mexico was prepared to retaliate with new tariffs on U.S.-made goods should the Trump administration follow up on its threats to slap an export tax of 20 percent or more on goods imported from Mexico to the United States. Videgaray was also quoted as saying: “Time has been wearing down President Donald Trump. He has had missteps that are placing him against the weight of reality.”
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