Mexico reminds Trump they are a sovereign nation with their own immigration policy

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), Luis Videgaray Caso, said that Mexico has a sovereign migration policy, in which the priority is the containment, protection and good treatment of migrant people.

He denied that there is a quota of refugees in Mexico and argued that given the statements of US President Donald Trump, in social networks, Mexico has opted for serenity and to put things in perspective, because “we do not do business negotiations or diplomacy through Twitter. ”

In an interview, he explained that the position of the American president should be placed in a context of intense electoral competition in that country, where there will be elections in three weeks.

He stressed that the Mexican government has been in contact with the members of the caravan of Hondurans who intend to reach Mexican territory to continue their destination to the United States.

The priority is the protection of people, particularly the most vulnerable groups in this caravan that have congregated on the border with Mexico, in the area of Tucumán, Guatemala, on the other side of Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas.

He said that among the nearly four thousand migrants there are children, pregnant women and seniors, so the priority, by constitutional mandate and conviction, is the protection of people and a respect of their human rights.

The chancellor assured that there is close communication with the Honduran caravan members in their transit through Guatemala, because through the embassy and consulates in that country and in Tucumán and Quetzaltenango, they have been exposed to the options to enter Mexican territory. and it will be their decision.

He noted that those who have documents such as passport or visa, which are the minority, will enter Mexico immediately, while those who choose to seek refuge with the Mexican government, the process is done individually, with a procedure established in the law to recognize that whoever requests it is in a situation of vulnerability in their country of origin.

For this, he said, international support was requested, through the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to ensure that refugee applications are processed in a transparent manner and do not depend on the Mexican government.

Added to this, he pointed out, one must ensure greater processing capacity because there is also a significant logistical challenge given that a large number of refugee applications will be presented simultaneously.

Videgaray Caso said that the responsibility of all government actions, including immigration decisions, in the face of the challenge involved in the caravan, is taken over by President Enrique Peña Nieto, until his last day in office.

He argued that although the federal government maintains close and frequent communication with the transition team of the president-elect, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the decisions until November 30 are taken by Peña Nieto.

“You have to put the statements that are made in context and we make our decisions attached to principles and conviction of our nation,”  he said.