MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The Mexican government said on Monday it would come up with a plan to deal with migrants stuck in the country as a result of outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies, while stressing that Mexico is not to blame for the flows of people.
The interior ministry said it and the foreign ministry would work out how to deal with migrants left inside the country by Trump’s so-called Remain in Mexico policy after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden pledged to dismantle the program.
Mexico would work with the governments of the United States, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to address the migration challenge, Interior Minister Olga Sanchez told a meeting of ambassadors, according to comments shared by the government.
“We’re not the cause of the problem, but we reiterate our willingness to be part of the solution,” she said.
Under Remain in Mexico, migrants with U.S. asylum claims have stayed in Mexico while their requests are processed.
“We will formulate a plan for the migrants still in Mexico with this program,” Sanchez said, without elaborating. “It’s foreseeable that in the distant future, there will be an increase in the flow of migrants trying to get to the United States via Mexico.”
Meanwhile, as Mexico celebrated its accession to the United Nations Security Council as a nonpermanent member, the government said it would work to crack down on arms trafficking, an issue it has often pressed upon Washington.
Mexico will sit on the Security Council from 2021 to 2022.
(Reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez in Mexico City; Writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
