MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico and the United States are nearing an agreement for non-Mexican migrants to be deported directly to their home countries rather than Mexico, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday.
The Mexican leader stressed he is willing to work with U.S. authorities on the policy, following the executive action announced on Tuesday by President Joe Biden that seeks to reduce the flow of U.S.-bound migrants ahead of November’s election.
“We’re reaching an agreement so that if they make the decision to deport, they do so directly,” Lopez Obrador said at a regular press conference when asked about Biden’s executive order blocking migrants who enter the United States from claiming asylum protections.
The new asylum restrictions, which took effect on Wednesday, allows U.S. authorities to deport or send back to Mexico migrants who cross the border unlawfully without the chance to claim asylum.
Lopez Obrador also suggested he would accept migrants expelled to Mexico despite his preference for direct deportations, saying “we don’t have a problem (with that)” in response to a question.
(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by David Alire Garcia)
