Iran Press/ America: Enrique Pena Nieto urged a US delegation led by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to quickly reunite migrant families separated at the border.
Pena Nieto called for “a permanent alternative that prioritizes the well-being and rights of minors”, Reuters reported.
Pompeo visited Mexico with Cabinet-level officials to meet with both Pena Nieto and president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador after a sea-change election that could offer a chance for the neighbors to repair strained relations.
Discussions were expected to address ways to combat transnational criminal organizations and trade tensions. But irregular migration across Mexico’s northern border into the United States loomed large during the meetings.
“The United States is committed to making measurable progress to ensure security on both sides of that border,” Pompeo told journalists.
US- Mexico ties have deteriorated especially under US president, Donald Trump, who campaigned on building a border wall and has repeatedly blamed Mexico for economic and social problems in the United States.
Pompeo’s comments come as Trump employs harsh rhetoric toward Central American countries as he pushes for help in controlling migrants’ movement, while threatening to "close our southern border."
Migrants break down a fence at Guatemala-Mexico border
Thousands of migrants have arrived at the Mexico-Guatemala border, with some climbing over the fence separating the two countries. US President Donald Trump has threatened to close the US-Mexico border and call in the military.
Mexican television footage showed the migrants being met by dozens of riot police on the bridge who blocked them from entering Mexico. Some could be seen jumping into the river below to get around the block.
More than 3,000 migrants are demanding they be let into Mexico, and ultimately through to the US, with many heard chanting “We want to work!”
Others shouted, "We are not smugglers, we are immigrants!"
Most of the migrants are from Honduras, but some have joined the caravan from other Central American countries.
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