Mexico accepts non-Mexican deportees from the United States

On By Littum

By Kylie Madry

Mexico City (Reuters) – Mexico has taken in non-Mexican deportees from the United States over the past week, President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday, reversing her earlier opposition to doing so.

Sheinbaum said Mexico had accepted over 4,000 deportees, a “vast majority” of whom were Mexican.

US President Donald Trump took office last week promising massive deportations of migrants who were in the US illegally.

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But in the days since, there has yet to be a “significant” increase in deportees received by Mexico, Sheinbaum said.

The leftist leader had previously said her administration had not accepted the restart of the Trump administration’s “remain in Mexico” program, which would send non-Mexican migrants back to Mexico while awaiting processing from the United States.

Sheinbaum said deportations received from the United States had included people sent on four flights using civilian aircraft. Reuters reported on Friday, citing a US and Mexican official, that Mexico had refused a deportation flight operated by the US military.

Such deportation flights have also caused an outcry from Brazil and Colombia in recent days.

Brazil accused the United States of “blatant disrespect” for deportees handcuffed on a flight, while Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Trump clashed on Sunday, nearly bringing the countries to the brink of a trade war over Petro’s refusal to accept US military deportation flights. Petro later agreed to accept the flights.

According to Sheinbaum, who called the deal between Trump and Petro “good”, the Mexican government and the US government were constantly in talks on immigration issues and other deals could be reached in the coming days.

She said there was a precedent for Mexico receiving non-Mexican migrants from the U.S. Her predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, had accepted the “remain in Mexico” program during Trump’s first term.

(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Sarah Morland, Anthony Esposito and Bernadette Baum)