Latin American countries say Trump’s team rejects talks on mass deportations

Donald Trump promised to pursue the largest deportation operation in American history immediately after taking office.

But the Mexican government and other regional allies have been unable to meet with the incoming Trump administration, according to Latin American officials, leaving them in the dark about the president-elect’s plans to deport millions of illegal immigrants.

The incoming administration has rejected Mexico’s requests for a formal meeting, insisting that detailed discussions will not begin until after Trump is sworn in next Monday, according to a Mexican official and two people familiar with the exchanges who were not authorized to speak publicly.

The governments of Guatemala and Honduras received similar messages, according to officials from those countries.

Eric L. said: “That’s not how things usually work,” said Olson, a fellow with the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program and the Mexico Institute. “There’s usually more informal communication and some level of discussion now.”

Analysts say the incoming administration may want to limit the confrontation before ramping up pressure by signing a series of executive orders on immigration, leaving governments in the region scrambling to respond. This is likely to strengthen Washington’s hand in the upcoming negotiations.

“At the moment, we cannot talk about concrete measures because we have not had any specific conversations about migration policies with the incoming authorities,” Santiago Palomo, spokesman for the President of Guatemala, said in an interview about how his country is preparing to respond to this problem. Mr. Trump’s mass deportation plans.

Officials said Guatemala’s ambassador to the United States had been in contact with Trump’s transition team, but members of the incoming administration did not report specific plans on ramping up deportations, or how Guatemala should prepare.

Honduran government officials also said they had not yet had significant contact with the incoming Trump administration. Earlier this month, President Xi Jinping threatened the President of Honduras To expel the US military from the base it built decades ago in the Central American country if Mr. Trump carries out mass deportations.

Given Trump’s intense focus on Latin America, the lack of clarity about his goals has alarmed regional governments.

The next administration said it wanted to restore “Stay in Mexico” The policy, implemented during Trump’s first term, forces some migrants to wait in Mexico instead of the United States while awaiting their asylum cases. Mr. Trump has also said He intends to declare a national emergency and use the US military in some way to assist in his situation Mass deportation plans Millions of illegal immigrants.

“President Trump will enlist every federal authority and coordinate with state authorities to begin the largest deportation of illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers in American history,” Carolyn Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, wrote in an email to The Washington Post. New York Times. She did not respond to questions about whether the incoming administration had rejected requests from Mexico and other countries to hold meetings.

New Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said her administration does not approve of the mass deportation program. “Of course we don’t agree,” she said in a press conference on Wednesday. But if the US government makes such a decision, we are ready.”

But when asked how the country would respond, her answers were evasive She recently pointed out The country’s willingness to accept some non-Mexican deportees.

“We will ask the United States, as much as possible, that migrants who are not from Mexico be sent to their countries of origin — and if not, we can cooperate through different mechanisms,” she told reporters. Earlier this month.

Some analysts said the Trump team may limit its meetings with Latin American governments because they are concerned about violating the Logan Act. This law forces future administrations to limit the scope of their negotiations with foreign governments until they take office, so as not to undermine sitting American presidents.

But previous incoming administrations have met with foreign governments to carefully discuss their policy goals, without violating the law.

Either way, the law did little to curb Mr. Trump’s appetite for meeting with his future counterparts. Since his election in November, Trump has met separately with US leaders Italy, Canada and Argentina At his hotel in Mar-a-Lago.

Despite the lack of communication, Mr. Trump has made clear his foreign policy goals through speeches and on social media, giving the Mexican government and other regional governments some insight into potential future U.S. policies.

“Trump has publicly indicated that immigration is a top priority, as are tariffs,” Mr. Olson said.

Shortly after his electoral victory, Trump threatened to do so Smack in 25 percent tariffs If Mexico does not do more to reduce immigration and the flow of drugs.

But there are no clear mechanisms for the Trump administration on how to engage in dialogue and negotiation. “This will be resolved soon enough” once he takes office, Mr. Olson added.

The next US administration will likely try to persuade Latin American countries to agree to accept asylum seekers from other countries seeking asylum in the United States, which is known as “Safe Third Country Agreements” The first Trump administration was able to convince Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador to sign those agreements, although this policy was only implemented in Guatemala, albeit in passing.

But drafting these agreements may be more difficult this time. “We are not a safe third country, and no one has suggested that,” Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo told The Associated Press this week.

His Foreign Minister, Carlos Ramirez Martinez, said in an interview that he expected his government to face pressure. “I have no doubt that this will come,” he said.

Officials in El Salvador He said They will work with the Trump administration to protect the status of Salvadorans in the United States. “We are working until immigration becomes a choice, not an obligation,” Cindy Portal, a senior State Department official, said in a television interview on Wednesday.

In the absence of clarity from the transition team, some Latin American leaders are instead crafting a unified response in anticipation of any executive orders related to immigration or deportation issued once Trump takes office.

Representatives from several regional governments met in Mexico City this week to discuss “the opportunities and challenges of migration in the region and to strengthen coordination and cooperation,” according to a Guatemalan government statement about the meeting.

Although the agenda was heavy on immigration, it did not mention Mr. Trump.

Judy Garcia contributed reporting from Guatemala City. Joan Suazo from Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Gabriel Labrador from San Salvador, El Salvador. James Wagner, Paulina Villegas, Emiliano Rodriguez Meja and Simon Romero contributed from Mexico City. Mary Trini Zea of ​​Panama City; Julie Turkowitz of Bogotá, Colombia; Hugla Enisia Perez from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Ed Augustin from Havana, Cuba; and Lucia Cholakian Herrera from Buenos Aires, Argentina.