Mixed Reports on Mexico’s Support for Plan Requiring Asylum Seekers to Wait in Mexico

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The Washington Post reported on November 24 that the incoming Mexican government of President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who will take office on December 1, has expressed support for President Trump’s plan (known as “Remain in Mexico”) to require asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims are being processed by U.S. immigration courts.

Trump briefly described the arrangement in a pair of tweets that evening. “Migrants at the Southern Border will not be allowed into the United States until their claims are individually approved in court,” the president wrote. “No ‘Releasing’ into the U.S…. All will stay in Mexico.”

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement earlier in the day: “President Trump has developed a strong relationship with the incoming Lopez Obrador Administration, and we look forward to working with them on a wide range of issues.”

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“For now, we have agreed to this policy of Remain in Mexico,” Olga Sánchez Cordero, Mexico’s incoming interior minister said in an interview with the Post. She called it a “short-term solution.”

However, following publication of the Post article, Sánchez Cordero and other members of the incoming government denied that an agreement had been reached and said talks with the United States were ongoing.

Sanchez told Reuters that ongoing talks with the United States on the situation of migrant caravans were “very delicate.”

Reuters approached incoming deputy interior minister Zoe Robledo for a statement, and Robledo said details of the “Remain in Mexico” plan were still being worked out; however, Robledo did confirm that the plan foresaw migrants staying in Mexico while asylum claims are being processed, and said the incoming government wanted to find jobs for them in facilities that are short-staffed.

“What we’re aiming for is that people leaving their countries due to security issues or violence can find a place to stay in Mexico if that is their decision,” Robledo said.

As U.S. and Mexican officials continued discussions about the Remain in Mexico plan, the storming of the U.S. border predicted by The New American on November 23 occurred. The Hill reported on November 26 that 42 people were arrested by U.S. authorities after they crossed the border near Tijuana following protests in which tear gas was used to push back migrants who were throwing rocks at Border Patrol agents.