President Donald Trump was photographed holding a piece of paper clearly showing details of a deal with Mexico over immigration on Tuesday, despite claiming the deal itself is “secret.”
Trump brandished a folded sheet of white A4 paper while giving a statement outside the White House, which was captured by multiple photographers.
Text on the paper can clearly be made out, and appears to show details of Trump’s plans, including the words: “The Government of Mexico will take all necessary steps under domestic law to bring the agreement into force with a view to ensuring that the agreement will enter into force within 45 days.”
According to Reuters, the president referred to the deal as “secret.”
On Monday, Mexico’s foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard told a press conference the US had given Mexico 45 days to slow the flow of South and Central American migrants passing through Mexico bound for the US.
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Text on the paper also referred to the “burden-sharing” of migrants.
This revolves around Mexico becoming a “safe third country” for Central American migrants destined for the US, a detail also previously reported on by the US and Mexican media.
On Monday, Ebrard said Mexico has so far rejected any burden sharing agreement.
While brandishing the paper Trump told reporters: “Here’s the agreement. It’s a very simple agreement. This is one page. This is one page of a very long and very good agreement for both Mexico and the United States.”
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The New York Times reported on Saturday that Trump had framed parts of his Mexico deal as brand new and revelatory despite them having already been agreed months ago.
Mexico’s promise that the National Guard would be sent to sure-up the southern border was actually agreed in March 2019, the Times wrote, and the revelation that asylum-seekers would have to wait in Mexico while US courts made their decisions was tentatively agreed in December 2018.
Trump tweeted the story was “shockingly false and untrue” on Sunday, and that the Times “knew it was Fake News before it went out.”
The New York Times is standing by its story.
The deal ended a proposed 5% tariff on imports from Mexico, which Trump said was punishment for an influx of migrants “coming into our Country from Mexico.”
Trump had also threatened to increase tariffs to 10% in July, 15% in August, 20% in September, and 25% in October, if Mexico did not try to slow the flow of migrants.
