Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Monday that border crossings into the United States had dropped by a third since the beginning of June. Ebrard announced the figures a day after meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The drop in crossings comes as a 45-day deadline, which was imposed by the US on Mexico to show progress on the issue, is set to expire.

President Donald Trump's administration has taken a tougher approach with its southern neighbor over migrant crossings, saying Mexico needs to do more to stop them.

In April, the US president threatened to impose tariffs on Mexican products if the country did not "stop, or largely stop," the flow of migrants.

Read more: Deal or no deal, US needs Mexicans

But the White House ultimately reversed on the threat and signed an agreement with Mexico, where the latter agreed to deploy security personnel to its border with Guatemala, among other measures.

Mexico 'no safe third country'

"There was a reduction in clandestine migration to the US of approximately 36.2%" Ebard said, adding that he planned to go to Washington to meet with counterparts in 45 days, although this was not yet confirmed by the White House.

Ebbard stressed that in his meeting with Pompeo, "Mexico proved that the decisions it has made have been effective" and that the US "respects those decisions and what we have achieved."

The US Secretary of State said on Monday the Trump administration sought more dialogue with Latin American countries to solve the problem and highlighted that US detentions of migrants on the border had also seen a 30% drop in June.

The Mexican Foreign minister ruled out the possibility that Mexico could become a "safe third country," which would force it to process all asylum requests from migrants passing through its territory, en route to the US.

Read more: 'Good Samaritans should not be prosecuted for helping people'

Following his trip to Mexico, Pompeo traveled to El Salvador to meet with President Nayib Bukele. The two countries have also pledged to work together on the issue of migration.

"We've got to address the challenges that cause this migration," Pompeo said, stressing that the US wanted to assist El Salvador in solving problems such as gang violence and poverty that are driving migrants north.

"We want people to want to stay in their own countries," Pompeo said.

jcg/jm (AFP, Reuters, dpa)

The vast and perilous US-Mexico border Tijuana and San Diego's walled beach A large wall stretches into the Pacific Ocean at the beaches of San Diego and Tijuana, two populous cities separated by the US-Mexico border. It is one of the most secure areas of the frontier and is part of the 1100 kilometers (700 miles) of fencing that have been completed thus far.

The vast and perilous US-Mexico border Politically divisive The fight over how to secure the border has divided Republicans, who support more fencing, and Democrats, who argue that using technology is more effective. Experts estimate it would cost $15-25 billion (€13-22 billion) to fully wall off the entire southern frontier.

The vast and perilous US-Mexico border The dangerous desert stretch Large swaths of the border are covered in desert, desolate and uninhabited. Many migrants try to cross these areas, where they fall victim to disorientation, dehydration and where the risk of death is high. Activists often leave water (pictured) and other supplies to help migrants survive the dangerous trek.

The vast and perilous US-Mexico border The Rio Grande Roughly half of the 3,000-kilometer border falls along the snaking Rio Grande. Migrants regularly attempt to cross the river, either by swimming or on rafts. The calm appearance of the Rio Grande is deceitful, as it is a fast-moving river with dangerous currents.

The vast and perilous US-Mexico border Crowded points of entry The US-Mexico border is considered the most transited frontier in the world. Most of the movement takes place at the various points of entry, where lawful back-and-forth traffic and asylum-seekers meet. The Matamoros-Brownsville International Bridge (pictured) is one of 44 official points of entry and the last one before the border ends at the Gulf of Mexico. Author: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez



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