The interior minister-elect of López Obrador government says no money has been put on the table

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Mexico’s incoming government has rejected a Trump administration proposal of funding to speed up and increase its detention and deportation of US-bound Central American migrants.

Thousands of migrants are detained by Mexico as they travel through the country to try to reach the US, but the interior minister-designate said on Thursday no offer had been made to help fund the process.

'It's heartbreaking': military family shattered as wife of decorated US marine deported to Mexico Read more

“That has not been put on the table in any way,” said Olga Sánchez Cordero, who is likely to take up responsibility for security in the administration of president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The outgoing government of Enrique Peña Nieto, however, issued a statement on Thursday night saying it “was continuing to evaluate the proposal” from the Trump administration.

“The government of Mexico will continue with the cooperation on migration matters has had with the the USA government,” the statement said.

Donald Trump has repeatedly pledged to build a border wall to stop immigration and stick Mexico with the bill. But the New York Times reported the Trump administration has instead proposed paying Mexico to speed up and increase its already robust detention and deportation of Central Americans escaping poverty and violence in what are some of the most murderous countries in the world.

Under the proposal – outlined in a note to Congress – $20m in foreign assistance funds would be used for the removal of 17,000 migrants from Mexico via flights or bus trips back to Central America, according to the New York Times. The purpose of the program would be to reduce the flow of migrants arriving at the border.

Arrests of family units entering the US from Mexico illegally soared 38% in August over the previous month, US customs and border protection said on Thursday.

Mexico implemented a controversial migrant crackdown called the “southern border plan” in 2014 in response to an outflow of child migrants from Central America. It stepped up enforcement in southern states, set up immigration checkpoints and stopped allowing migrants to steal rides on freight trains.

Amlo: five things to know about Mexico's new president Read more

The US president appears to have struck a cordial relation with López Obrador, a left-leaning populist, who overwhelmingly won the 1 July presidential election and takes office in December.

López Obrador promised on the campaign trail that Mexico “wouldn’t do the dirty work” of foreign governments, a reference to the deportations of Central Americans. He plans to slow migration through regional development in southern Mexico and Central America.



