Mexico cannot commit to safe third-country deal - president

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday Mexico had not, and could not, commit to a safe third-country agreement like the one Guatemala signed with the United States to stop a flow of undocumented Central American migrants north.

Lopez Obrador said the best way to control the problem was cooperation for economic development, which Mexico has been doing.

"We have not accepted the proposal for the so-called third safe country," Lopez Obrador said.

"We could not commit to this."

On Friday, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales talked up a similar immigration deal with the US he had signed, saying it would make Guatemala a "privileged partner" for Washington.

Trump had pushed for Guatemala to sign the agreement to require asylum seekers passing through on their way to the United States to first pursue safe haven in Guatemala. When an initial agreement fell through the week before, Trump had threatened to impose tariffs, ban travellers and hit remittances with fees.

The Guatemalan government had said in a statement that the deal – which it did not call a safe third country pact – would allow its citizens to apply for temporary visas to work in the US agricultural sector, and in the medium- to long-term, would allow for work visas for the construction and service sectors.

The Trump administration has grappled with a surge of mainly Central American migrants claiming asylum at the United States' southern border with Mexico, an influx that has made it difficult for Trump to restrict immigration as he promised when he was elected.