Mexico has not agreed to accept non-Mexican asylum seekers from the US, the president said By Reuters
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s president said on Wednesday she had not agreed to accept non-Mexican migrants seeking asylum in the United States, a day after her new U.S. counterpart announced the return of the program.
On Tuesday, the administration of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump announced it would roll back its “Remain in Mexico” program, formerly known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, which forced non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their often lengthy cases in the United States were processed. are solved.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters that such a move would require the consent of the country receiving the asylum seekers, which Mexico has not done.
She said her government was offering humanitarian aid to deported migrants of other nationalities along with “repatriation mechanisms” if they voluntarily returned to their home countries.
On Monday, Trump returned to the White House vowing to continue aggressive immigration and border security measures, including declaring a national emergency on the southern border despite sharp reductions in crossings over the past year.
The MPP program was originally launched in 2019 during Trump’s previous presidency in an effort to deter what officials then described as fraudulent asylum claims.
Human rights advocates have rejected the policy, arguing it endangers migrants, including families with young children, by forcing them to live in border camps vulnerable to organized crime.
In 2021, former President Joe Biden ended the program, citing unsafe and dangerous conditions on the Mexican side of the border.
Also on Wednesday, Sheinbaum noted that her Foreign Secretary Juan Ramon de la Fuente and newly confirmed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a “very cordial” phone conversation the day before to discuss migration and security issues.
