UPDATE 1-Mexico wants to 'bring order' to Central American migration to U.S. -president
Speaking after U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to close the U.S. southern border if Mexico did not halt illegal immigration immediately, Lopez Obrador said he would not have a confrontation with the United States. "I prefer love and peace," Lopez Obrador told reporters at his regular morning news conference.
Most of the people caught at the U.S. border trying to enter illegally come from three violent and impoverished Central American countries: Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Apprehensions at the U.S. border have surged in recent months, angering Trump and putting pressure on Lopez Obrador to find a solution that will prevent a shutdown of the frontier to the market for 80 percent of Mexico's exports.
Asked if it was time to put pressure on the Central American countries to address the problem, Lopez Obrador said the causes of migration were "not being attended to" and that people needed to be offered more opportunities there. "Obviously, we have to help because Central American migrants pass through our territory and we have to bring order to this migration, make sure it's legal," Lopez Obrador said.
"That's what we're doing. But serenely, calmly, without a commotion and with great prudence and responsibility." Lopez Obrador declined to reveal whether the government was taking preparations for a possible shutdown of the border, saying he did not want to get ahead of himself.
The leftist Mexican president has consistently refused to get drawn into a war of words with Trump over the border. Instead, he has sought to persuade Trump to help tackle the problem by fostering economic development in Central America. However, on Saturday the U.S. State Department said it was cutting off aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. (Reporting by Dave Graham; Additional reporting by Sharay Angulo; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Grant McCool)
Google News