Mexico City, Jan 21 (EFE).- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that her government would return to their countries of origin the migrants stranded in Mexico by the new immigration restrictions imposed by United States President Donald Trump.
“We would look for migration and foreign policy mechanisms to return them to their countries of origin,” she explained during her daily morning conference, adding that agreements already exist with most Central American countries and Cuba.
“Of course, the returns will be voluntary,” the president noted.
Sheinbaum promised to provide “humanitarian attention” to migrants in Mexico who can no longer cross into the United States after their asylum appointments were canceled and the CBP One mobile app that managed such appointments stopped working on Monday afternoon, shortly after Trump was sworn in as president.
The new US president then reinstated the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the “Stay in Mexico” policy, which forces US asylum seekers to wait in Mexican territory while their claims are processed.
But Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that the new US administration should deport undocumented immigrants directly to their countries of origin, rather than to Mexican territory.
“So the issue is: if they’re on Mexican territory, we’re taking care of these people for humanitarian reasons. But under our migration policy, because they’re foreign nationals, we’re trying to return them to their country of origin,” Sheinbaum argued.
She did not clarify whether the Mexican government would pay for the repatriations or would seek for the United States to do so.
“This is what we will be discussing with the US government,” she said. EFE
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