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Kushner, Pompeo to Tackle Migration, Border Security Amid Strained US-Mexico
Relations

by Nike Ching

   MEXICO CITY --

   In an effort to mend frayed relations and re-set bilateral ties between
   two neighboring countries, senior officials from U.S. President Donald
   Trump's administration arrived Mexico City Friday, holding the first
   talks with Mexico President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his
   team, days after the leftist won a landslide election to a six-year
   team.

   "We will talk up there," said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, when
   asked by traveling press what his message was to Obrador, before
   boarding the plane.

   Pompeo joined Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, Treasury
   Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen
   Nielsen for talks with senior officials in Mexico City.

   "The whole goal of Secretary Pompeo's trip is to advance that positive
   agenda and to work with the Mexican government across all of the issue
   areas where we can make progress on," said a senior State Department
   official.

   Meetings underway

   U.S. officials meet Friday with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto,
   Obrador, and Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray Caso.

   Kushner, who developed a back channel and close working relations with
   Videgaray Caso, joins Pompeo for the meeting at Mexico's Ministry of
   Foreign Affairs before the U.S. and Mexico hold a joint press
   availability.

   The high-profile meetings came amid strained relations between the two
   neighboring countries over illegal migration, border security, and
   trade negotiations.

   To curb the influx of migrants -- mostly from Central America -- the
   two countries are said to be discussing a proposed "safe third country"
   agreement that could significantly reduce the flow of asylum seekers
   who journey through Mexico and cross illegally into the U.S.

   A "safe third country" deal between Mexico and the U.S. would require
   asylum seekers from Central America to apply for protection in Mexico
   rather than at the U.S. border.

   'Important, complex' issues

   Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Carl Risch is also
   among those in the U.S. delegation.

   When asked if Washington would consider providing Mexico financial aid
   as an incentive and to help the country settle new asylum seekers, the
   senior State Department official told VOA "migration issues are an
   incredibly important and complex issue" that the Trump administration
   is addressing. He referred to the Department of Homeland Security that
   is taking the lead on such discussions.

   In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said migrant flows
   are a shared responsibility among nations in Latin America, and
   Washington is working with regional governments to "find options for
   these individuals to remain within or closer to their countries of
   origin."

   Critics warned such an agreement could put migrants fleeing violence in
   further danger.

   Due process a priority

   American Immigration Council Policy Director Royce Murray told VOA
   Friday any such deal must ensure that Mexico can process "a high volume
   of asylum seekers 'Świthout compromising due process."

   "More importantly, we would need to assess whether Mexico can provide
   meaningful protections to asylum seekers," Murray added. "While there
   are many issues on the table between the U.S. and Mexico, refugees
   cannot become a mere chit whose safety and security can be negotiated
   away."

   "The notion that Mexico is in any way safe for Central American
   asylum-seekers is preposterous," Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg of the
   advocacy group Legal Aid Justice Center told VOA on Thursday.

   "I have had countless Central American clients, mostly women, tell me
   that the treatment they received in Mexico -- whether by the cartels,
   or the government, or both -- was nearly as bad as the violence they
   were fleeing in their home countries," he added.

   Mexico officials had said the best way to tackle issues related to
   illegal migration and border security is to "spur development in
   Mexico."

   'Better places to live'

   Wednesday, the State Department's acting deputy assistant secretary on
   western hemisphere affairs, Kenneth Merten, told U.S. lawmakers that
   Washington is working with Mexico in tackling pressing issues through
   aid programs.

   "Our assistance programs in the region seek to support rule of law and
   governance, and to make these countries better places to live, better
   places to do business, and thus ultimately reduce migration," Merten
   said during a hearing Wednesday at the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

   Pompeo will also discuss "continued U.S.-Mexico cooperation with the
   Nieto administration throughout the transition" and work closely with
   Obrador to continue strengthening the U.S.-Mexico relationship after
   the new administration takes office on Dec. 1, said State Department
   spokesperson Heather Nauert.