Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said on Monday his country will provide assistance to the United States to regulate the immigration flow of the Central American migrants crossing the Mexican border to enter the US.
According to Reuters news reports, during a media conference, Obrador told the reporters, “I prefer love and peace.”
Speaking after US President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to shut the US southern border if Mexico didn’t halt illegal immigration flow to the US immediately, Obrador stated he wouldn’t have any confrontation with Washington.
Obrador has repeatedly declined to get drawn into a war of words with Trump over the US-Mexico border. A senior Mexican trade official later warned that shutting the southern border would lead to pain on “both sides”.
Most of the migrants illegally enter the US from three impoverished nations: El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Obrador has several times tried to persuade Trump to attend the issues by promoting economic development in Central America, but however, on Saturday, the US state department has said it was cutting off aid to those three nations.
Obrador said that the cause of migration was “not being attended to” and also the people needed to be provided with more opportunities there.
He said, “Obviously, we have to help because Central American migrants pass through our territory and we have to bring order to this migration, make sure it’s legal.”
He added, “That’s what we’re doing. But serenely, calmly, without a commotion and with great prudence and responsibility.”