Central America could also make pact with US on deportees, Mexico president says
By Kylie Madry
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico has received non-Mexican migrants from the United States in the past week, and Central American nations could also reach similar agreements with the U.S. to accept deportees from other countries, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday.
The leftist leader's comments are a reversal from her administration's previous opposition to Mexico receiving migrants from other countries.
Sheinbaum said in her daily morning press conference that Mexico had accepted more than 4,000 migrants, of which a "large majority" were Mexican, from the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump took office last week, promising massive deportations of migrants who were in the U.S. illegally.
But in the days since, there has not been a "substantial" increase in deportees received by Mexico, Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum previously said her administration had not agreed to the restart of the "Remain in Mexico" program by the Trump administration, which would send non-Mexican migrants who had crossed the border between the two countries back to Mexico while they awaited processing by the United States.
She was not clear on Monday whether the migrants accepted so far were deportees or migrants returned under Remain in Mexico, which U.S. border officials don't classify as deportations.
The U.S. is also in talks with Central American countries on immigration, Sheinbaum said, suggesting they could receive migrants from other nations in the region.
"Some countries' constitutions - Guatemala's, for example - say that any Central American must be accepted by Guatemala," Sheinbaum said. "So they're coordinating with the United States, taking into account each country's sovereignty."
Guatemalan Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Martinez told journalists later on Monday that he did not rule out his nation becoming a so-called "safe third country" to accept migrants of other nationalities.
Guatemala accepted migrants from other countries during Trump's first administration.
Mexico, which agreed to "Remain in Mexico" under Trump's first term, had also agreed to accept up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela kicked back at the border each month during former U.S. President Joe Biden's time in office.
Sheinbaum said that deportations received from the U.S. by Mexico had included people sent on four flights using civil aircraft. Reuters reported on Friday, citing a U.S. and Mexican official, that Mexico had refused a deportation flight operated by the U.S. military.
Such deportation flights have also caused an outcry from Brazil and Colombia in recent days.
Brazil accused the U.S. of "blatant disrespect" of deportees who were handcuffed on a flight, while Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Trump tussled on Sunday, nearly bringing the countries to a full-blown trade war over Petro's refusal to accept U.S. military deportation flights. Petro later agreed to accept the flights.
According to Sheinbaum, who called the agreement between Trump and Petro "good," the Mexican government and U.S. government were constantly in talks on immigration issues and other deals could be reached in coming days.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Sofia Menchu in Guatemala City; Editing by Sarah Morland, Anthony Esposito, Bernadette Baum and Andrea Ricci)
