A top official in Mexico’s government is rejecting the White House’s call for a “safe third country” immigration deal, and some GOP leaders are trying to prevent President Donald Trump from getting a deal by imposing tariffs on Mexico.
The ‘safe third country’ agreement would deter migrants from leaving Central American because it would allow U.S. border agencies to quickly reject asylum applications from migrants who cross through Mexico. The quick rejection would prevent the migrants from using Congress’ catch-and-release rules to get the U.S. jobs needed to pay their smuggling debts to the cartel-linked smugglers.
A safe third country deal “would not be acceptable to Mexico,” Mexico’s deputy foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, told a press conference in Washington on Monday, June 3. “It would not be acceptable and [U.S. officials] know it,” he added. Instead, Americans should provide economic aid to the Central American countries whose populations are moving into the United States, he said.
GOP legislators told the Washington Post they are trying to push back against Trump’s promised tariffs on Mexico if Mexico’s government does not curb the migration. The paper reported June 4: