After weeks of talks, the Mexican government reluctantly agreed to accept the waiting migrants, which could substantially reduce the number of people trying to gain entry into the United States and deter even those with the most credible asylum claims.
Mexican officials did not say where the immigrants would be housed or what resources they would be given, but noted that humanitarian visas and work permits would be made available.
The policy shift amounts to the boldest effort yet by the Trump administration to discourage people from seeking refuge in the United States.
Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, called the move “historic” and said the government was acting under emergency provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The change is effective immediately.
The administration has said the changes are meant to weed out people who do not qualify for asylum, but migrant rights groups argue that they would also affect those legitimately fleeing for their lives. The new policy was introduced less than a week after two Honduran teenagers were killed in an apparent robbery in Tijuana.
The boys had been staying in shelters that house asylum-seekers preparing to enter the United States.
As a result of the new curbs, shelters for asylum-seekers in Mexico have been overwhelmed recently by people who would previously have been allowed into the United States on the day they presented themselves at the border, but now have to wait weeks or months.
“I am surprised the new Mexican government would agree to carry Trump’s water on this, given his harsh rhetoric toward Mexicans,” said Kevin Appleby, the policy director of the Center for Migration Studies. “The administration will use this agreement moving forward to put up a virtual wall against asylum-seekers. In some ways, Mexico will be paying for a wall.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.