Immigration deal with incoming Mexico govt

[WOT?*]

They agree to accommodate a staging/waiting area on the Mexico side of the border while asylum applications are pending as a "short term" solution.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/deal-with-mexico-paves-way-for-asylum-overhaul-at-us-border/2018/11/24/87b9570a-ef74-11e8-9236-bb94154151d2_story.html?fbclid=IwAR3C-Z-GLym37d966ZBD3ahFhOCRYZCLworhLJHV9gDtPtZc5jts7xMEjwo&utm_term=.775aab4171da

According to outlines of the plan, known as Remain in Mexico, asylum applicants at the border will have to stay in Mexico while their cases are processed, potentially ending the system, which Trump decries as “catch and release,” that has generally allowed those seeking refuge to wait on safer U.S. soil.



“For now, we have agreed to this policy of Remain in Mexico,” said Olga Sánchez Cordero, Mexico’s incoming interior minister, the top domestic policy official for López Obrador, who takes office Dec. 1. In an interview with The Washington Post, she called it a “short-term solution.”


“The medium- and long-term solution is that people don’t migrate,” Sánchez Cordero said. “Mexico has open arms and everything, but imagine, one caravan after another after another, that would also be a problem for us.”


While no formal agreement has been signed, and U.S. officials caution that many details must still be discussed, the incoming Mexican government is amenable to the concept of turning their country in to a waiting room for America’s asylum system.


While they remain anxious that the deal could fall apart, U.S. officials view this as a potential breakthrough that could deter migration and the formation of additional caravans that originate in Central America and cross through Mexico to reach the United States. They have quietly engaged in sensitive talks with senior Mexican officials, attempting to offer a diplomatic counterbalance to President Trump’s threats and ultimatums.

The prospect of keeping thousands of Central American asylum seekers for months or years in drug cartel-dominated Mexican border states — some of the most violent in the country — has troubled human-rights activists and others who worry that such a plan could put migrants at risk and undermine their lawful right to apply for asylum.



We have not seen a specific proposal, but any policy that would leave individuals stranded in Mexico would inevitably put people in danger,” said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney whose team has won several legal victories against the Trump administration’s immigration initiatives in recent months.

Not that I'm seeing a lot of racism here (lol) but how long are these families supposed to sit in camps on the Mexican side of the border while we drag our feet processing applications. And when they're denied, who will be responsible for deporting them/sending them home vs. them remaining at the border?

[tiramisu]

This is already happening in Tijuana and the news reports frequently on protests happening in Tijuana because of it. There are concerns about people being in shelters for so long, the local resources available, and tension between people who live there and migrants. It's a mess already and it's awful.

[wise_rita]

Sounds a lot like Australia's reaction to boat refugees.

WOT?* the answer to your question is: indefinitely.

[katfco]

Is this just going to result in huge refugee camps like those in Europe, Africa and the Middle East?

[StrawberryBlondie]

I just hot a news alert on my phone that Mexico says no such deal was made.

[AAM2012]

Lord what a shit show... so sad.


When will it be over?!?!

[WOT?*]

Nov 24, 2018 20:11:10 GMT -5 StrawberryBlondie said:

I just hot a news alert on my phone that Mexico says no such deal was made.

I believe the article says they are in talks, or some such. I hope it doesn't go beyond that point. Precisely because of my (rhetorical) questions that wise_rita answered because the answer is horrible and needs to be stated, not rhetorical.

ETA (from the article): "On Saturday, following publication of The Washington Post story and criticism of the incoming government for acceding to pressure from Trump, Sánchez Cordero and other members of the incoming government denied that an agreement had been reached and said talks with the United States were ongoing.

While no formal agreement has been signed, and U.S. officials caution that many details must still be discussed, the incoming Mexican government is amenable to the concept of turning their country into a waiting room for America’s asylum system."

(I don't recall if this was in the article originally or if it was edited to include this.)