Foreign Affairs ministers from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are trying to assuage the fears of migrants facing the possibility of massive deportations announced during the campaign by President-elect Donald Trump.
“Mexico will not under any circumstances change its approach to human rights on the border,” said Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary (SRE) Claudia Ruiz Massieu, noting that Mexico is working to improve services to migrants who require support.
Guatemalan Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Raúl Morales hosted a meeting with Ruiz Massieu and his counterparts from Honduras, María Dolores Agüero, and El Salvador, Hugo Martínez, to create a joint plan to protect migrants.
One of the foundations of Trump’s campaign was the fight against undocumented immigration to the United States, which has created fear for millions of migrants. In an interview after the elections, Trump said he would deport at least three million people without a residence permit who had a criminal record in the country.
Ruiz Massieu explained that a toll-free telephone line has been set up for migrants in need of advice. They are also expanding consular services, especially legal consulting for migrants, so that “they can approach experts and explain their personal situation and know the rights they have,” she said.
Morales called on migrants who have children in the United States to register them as Guatemalan citizens which would prevent children from being put up for adoption if their parents are deported.
Morales said that “the United States is the main political, economic and social partner of the countries in the northern triangle and of Mexico, so we want to have the best relationship with the new government.”
The foreign ministers prepared joint actions such as a visit to McAllen Texas, still yet to be confirmed, and a meeting next January, set tentatively in Mexico. They also announced that a mobile application will be created to provide consular information to migrants.
In addition, they will focus on the strengthening of the Alliance for Prosperity Plan, which is aimed at creating “more opportunities in the countries of origin of migrants,” said Martínez.
