US To Negotiate With Mexico On ‘Asylum Pact’ That Would Drastically Cut Number Of Illegal Immigrants

An asylum deal between the United States and Mexico reportedly under discussion Thursday and Friday could drastically reduce the number of Central American migrants that make it to the U.S. border.

According to Politico, which interviewed a source from both the United States and Mexico, officials from both countries will meet today and tomorrow to discuss a “safe third country agreement” that would require migrants from Central America to ask for asylum in Mexico before reaching the U.S. border.

Politico’s Ted Hesson writes:

The talks will cover “technical and legal” aspects of a safe third country agreement, according to two related documents reviewed by POLITICO.

Mexican Ambassador Gerónimo Gutiérrez is slated to attend the confab, which will take place at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services headquarters on Massachusetts Avenue, according to a DHS official. Videgaray will remain in Mexico City, but he’ll still have two top emissaries in attendance: Narciso Campos, his chief of staff, and José Luis Stein, deputy secretary of the interior.

The expected participants from the U.S. side include, tentatively, James McCament, the acting head of the DHS policy office; Kevin McAleenan, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and Francis Cissna, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. John Creamer, a top State Department official for Mexico, Central America and Cuba, could also join the meetings.

Read the rest of the story HERE.