by the El Reportero’s wire services
The 15th Caravan of Central American Mothers in Search of Missing Migrants arrived in Mexico City and will remain in this capital for three days, the National Migration Institute (INM) confirmed on Thursday.
The agency informed in a press release that the Caravan is carried out through the Grupo Beta, which provides support and monitoring during its transit through different states of Mexico.
It adds that the Caravan began its tour on Nov. 15 in the municipality of Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas, and arrived yesterday in this capital, where its members will remain for three days before heading to Puebla. The tour will conclude on Dec. 3 in Tabasco.
During this period, Grupo Beta agents have been attentive to the passage of the Caravan through different parts of the country, such as Chiapas, Veracruz, Nuevo Leon, Querétaro, San Luis Potosi, Coahuila, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato and Michoacán.
As part of the accompaniment and follow-up efforts, the press release adds, Grupo Beta has the task of providing – where necessary – first aid and social assistance to the women and men of the Caravan, made up of about 50 people from different Central American nations, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
More immigrants without criminal records detained in US
The number of foreigners without criminal records who have been detained by US immigration authorities has tripled over the past four years, according to a study published here.
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a research center attached to the University of Syracuse, in New York, said that 32,000 people without criminal records had been detained until April 2019.
On the other hand, in January 2015, the number of detained immigrants reached nearly 10,000, according to the study, accounting for 64 percent
of those arrested by agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The research shows that the two detention centers with more immigrants without criminal records are in the state of Texas, one of which is on the border with Mexico.
US, Canada and Mexico discuss trade deal
Delegations from the United States, Canada and Mexico are meeting here on Wednesday to discuss their trade agreement signed a year ago and pending for ratification by the legislatures in Washington and Ottawa, local media reported.
According to the Politico newspaper, the meeting is being attended by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, and Mexican Deputy Foreign Minister for North America Jesus Seade.
Signed on Nov. 30, 2018, in Argentina, the deal replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, 1994), after intense negotiations under pressure from US President Donald Trump.
Mexican president rejects US intervention
“Cooperation yes, intervention no,” was the response this Wednesday from Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to statements by his US counterpart, Donald Trump, who defined Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups.
Asked about it in his morning press conference at the National Palace, the president evaded the issue and refused to go into details about it, but immediately clarified, in order to avoid any doubts regarding whether the issue was being addressed, that the Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the matter yesterday, which insisted that Mexico’s position is to cooperate, but without foreign intervention.
He reiterated that the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, has instructions to deal with this matter and will inform of the results when he considers it necessary, today or tomorrow.
A few hours before the conference, Ebrard had reaffirmed on social networks that Mexico will never accept actions that violate its national sovereignty.
He added that “the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will act firmly.”
He indicated this position was transmitted to the United States, as well as Mexico’s resolve to confront transnational organized crime. “Mutual respect is the basis of cooperation,” he stressed.
