2 in Cabinet sent to regain Mexico's trust

MEXICO CITY -- President Donald Trump has dispatched his top diplomat and homeland security chief to Mexico on a fence-mending mission.

Ties between the U.S. and Mexico have soured since Trump took office a month ago, punctuated by Trump's insistence that Mexico pay for a border wall and his other demands regarding illegal immigration and trade. And in Mexico, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly will face a government anxiously rethinking its relationship with its bigger, richer and more powerful neighbor.

Tillerson arrived Wednesday evening in Mexico City. Kelly, whose agency is responsible for implementing Trump's immigration crackdown, was to arrive separately after visiting Guatemala. They plan to meet Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and other top officials.

The visit is part of a Trump administration trend: top Cabinet and other officials seeking to calm nations nervous about the security of their U.S. partnerships in the new era of "America First." Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary James Mattis previously have filled the role, facing foreign leaders who've struggled to reconcile their rhetoric of reassurance with the declarations of disruption from Trump and some of his senior envoys.

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Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO, and Kelly, a retired Marine general, have taken a more diplomatic tack toward Mexico than Trump, even as they both assume key roles in executing policy that has stirred resentment in America's southern neighbor.

On Tuesday, the U.S. changed immigration enforcement policies that could subject millions of illegal aliens -- including many Mexicans -- to deportation. Whereas former President Barack Obama focused on deporting people convicted of serious crimes, new memos signed by Kelly prioritize deportation for anyone convicted of a crime or charged with any offense. That includes crossing the border illegally.

The memos also call for sending some people who enter the U.S. illegally back to Mexico, even if they're from Central America or elsewhere and only used Mexico as a transit point. Detention center capacity will expand; planning for Trump's much touted wall will begin.

But Kelly said Wednesday on a visit to Guatemala that there won't be mass deportations.

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"There will be no mass roundups," he said. But those caught "will be returned to their country much quicker than has been the case for the last decade or so."

The orders, he said, simply will result in people trying to enter the U.S. illegally being caught at the border, where they will be "treated fairly and humanely and returned to their home countries."

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said after his meeting with Kelly that "the most important thing is that they have told us that there will not be mass deportations, and that they will be focused precisely on those people who represent a security threat or who have committed a crime."

Kelly focused on discouraging Guatemalans from making what he called the "very, very dangerous" trip through Mexico trying to reach the United States.

'we don't have to'

All these actions are prompting consternation in Mexico. As Tillerson headed to Mexico City, his Mexican counterpart, Foreign Affairs Secretary Luis Videgaray, insisted that Mexico would not "accept unilateral decisions imposed by one government on another."

"We don't have to, and it is not in the interest of Mexico," Videgaray said. He hinted that Mexico might seek to challenge Trump's move at the United Nations or in other international bodies.

Against that backdrop, the two sides plan to discuss today how to move forward in day-to-day relations, which include $1.5 billion in daily commerce.

The Trump administration maintains the U.S. can pursue a productive relationship with Mexico, building on long-standing economic and other cooperation.

At the White House, spokesman Sean Spicer said the U.S.-Mexican relationship is "phenomenal."

"I think there's an unbelievable and robust dialogue between the two nations," Spicer said.

Trump was in office barely a week when Pena Nieto canceled a visit to the U.S. Trump had suggested their meeting would be ill-advised if Mexico wasn't willing to pay for the wall, expected to cost billions. Mexico remained unwilling. A meeting between the two presidents hasn't been rescheduled.

Anti-Trump protests have broken out in Mexico. Earlier this month, some 20,000 people marched through Mexico's capital demanding respect from the U.S.

"This is worse than Lucy and Charlie Brown with the football," said Jorge Castaneda, who served as Mexico's foreign minister in Vicente Fox's administration. "You'd have to be dumb to think that they're not going to do this again and again."

"It's never a good idea to enter a negotiation by putting a deadline on yourself where you make it clear to the other side that you are in a rush," he said. "If you do that, the other side can just wait you out, and then you have to take whatever deal they offer because you have set this deadline for yourself."

While Pena Nieto has struggled with plummeting approval ratings, his opposition to Trump has rallied many Mexicans around him.

Earlier this week, he tried to prepare Mexico for a recalibrated relationship with the giant northern neighbor that, among other things, could mean a new trade agreement similar to the North American Free Trade Agreement .

In a meeting with Mexican media executives, Pena Nieto said the pact may change in name only, according to the El Universal daily.

But, he cautioned, relations with the Trump administration are "a panorama of uncertainty," the newspaper reported.

A trio of Democratic senators visited Mexico in advance of Tillerson and Kelly's trip. Putting the blame on Trump, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, said he was confident the relationship could withstand "140-character broadsides or unrealistic demands" -- referring to the president's frequent Twitter missives.

ryan at the border

Separately, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan visited the Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday for a firsthand look at the U.S.-Mexico border.

It was the first time the Wisconsin Republican had visited the border, and protesters gathered to meet his arrival in McAllen, Texas, with hand-painted signs protesting Trump policies. Ryan led a small group of fellow Republicans on the trip, including Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in the House.

In McAllen, Ryan saw up close some of the challenges that arise in building a wall along the entire 2,000-mile border, which includes much remote and inhospitable terrain as well as the Rio Grande, the river between Texas and Mexico. He met with local officials and toured the area by boat and helicopter, and even briefly rode a horse.

"When you see with your own eyes the many challenges facing our law enforcement professionals along the border, it gives you even greater respect for the work that they do day-in and day-out. But more tools and more support are needed for them to do their jobs effectively," Ryan said in a statement after the visit. "Congress is committed to securing the border and enforcing our laws, and together with the Trump administration, we will get this done."

A group called La Union del Pueblo Entero announced it was protesting Ryan's visit "in order to show the opposition of border residents to the current presidential administration's immigration and border policies."

According to The Monitor newspaper, protesters were asking to meet with Ryan, but he did not meet with them.

The focus on Mexico came as the White House said it was pushing back the release of Trump's revamped refugee and immigration executive order until next week.

Trump had said his administration would unveil the new order this week, but a White House official said that has been delayed. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the internal process and insisted on anonymity.

Trump's original order temporarily banning all entry into the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority nations and pausing the entire U.S. refugee program was blocked in the courts.

The White House said it would rewrite the order to try to address some of the legal concerns that arose in the court proceedings.

Information for this article was contributed by Josh Lederman, Vivian Salama, Mark Stevenson, Sonia Perez D. and staff members of The Associated Press and by Antonio Olivo of The Washington Post.

A Section on 02/23/2017