Mexico’s incoming government has denied reaching a deal with the Trump administration to allow asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims are heard in the United States.

“No agreement of any kind exists between Mexico’s future federal government and the United States of America,” the office of incoming interior minister, Olga Sánchez Cordero, said in a Saturday statement.

“The future government is not considering in its plans that Mexico assumes the role of ‘safe third country’ for Central American migrants or [migrants] from other countries, who find themselves in Mexican territory,” the statement added.

Earlier in the day, the Washington Post reported that the incoming government of Mexican president-elect, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, had agreed to a scheme known as “Remain in Mexico” after it assumes office on 1 December. The scheme would stop a practice that Donald Trump decries as “catch and release”, in which people are released from custody as their asylum cases proceed.

“For now, we have agreed to this policy of Remain in Mexico,” the Post quoted Sánchez Cordero as saying, adding that it was a “short-term solution”.

Sánchez Cordero’s Saturday statement did not disavow her comments to the Post.

Zoé Robledo, an incoming undersecretary in the interior ministry, told Reuters: “What we’re aiming for is that people leaving their countries due to security issues or violence can find a place to stay in Mexico if that is their decision.”

The Remain in Mexico plan would potentially impede the asylum claims of Central American migrants, who flee poverty and violence at home and transit through Mexico in the hopes of reaching the US.

The negotiations come as caravans of Central American wind their way through Mexico to the border city of Tijuana, where more than 4,000 migrants have arrived and many are waiting to apply for asylum. US border officials at some ports of entry have been accepting fewer than 50 asylum requests per day, despite a massive backlog, according to press reports.

The arrival and possibly lengthy stay of so many Central Americans in Tijuana prompted the city’s mayor, Juan Manuel Gastélum, to declare a humanitarian crisis, saying resources to support the migrants are scant.

The caravans have captured Trump’s attention and anger. He has ominously referred to the mass of impoverished migrants – who include women and children – as an “invasion” and sent soldiers to the border in advance of their arrival.

Trump has been seeking to block thousands of Central Americans who are travelling in caravans from entering the US, and has ordered that immigrants who enter the country illegally from Mexico would not be eligible for asylum. That order has been temporarily suspended by a US judge.

On Saturday he tweeted that migrants will not be allowed to enter the US until their claims are “individually approved in court”.

Migrants at the Southern Border will not be allowed into the United States until their claims are individually approved in court. We only will allow those who come into our Country legally. Other than that our very strong policy is Catch and Detain. No “Releasing” into the U.S... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2018

In the Saturday tweet storm, he threatened: “All will stay in Mexico. If for any reason it becomes necessary, we will CLOSE our Southern Border. There is no way that the United States will, after decades of abuse, put up with this costly and dangerous situation anymore!”

Mexico has wanted to avoid border closures as the country sends approximately 80% of its exports to the US.

López Obrador promised during his election campaign that Mexico would “not do the dirty work of any foreign government” – a reference to Mexico detaining and deporting thousands of Central American migrants each year.

He has subsequently stayed mostly silent on the issue, saying only that his government would offer migrants work visas and propose longer-term solutions such as development in Central America so people didn’t have to migrate.

The government of the outgoing president, Enrique Peña Nieto, also offered temporary visas and access to social services to caravan participants, but many preferred to try their luck in US, where wages are higher and some had family with whom they wanted to reunite.

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

Reuters contributed to this report.

