US Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said on Thursday that there will be no “massive deportations” or “use of military force” for his country’s new immigration guidelines during a visit to Mexico to rebuild battered bilateral relations.
In a press appearance in the Mexican capital along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his Mexican counterparts, Chancellor Luis Videgaray and Interior Minister Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, Kelly strove to send a reassuring message.
Let me be very, very clear: there will be no massive deportations. There will be no use of military force in the migratory operations,”
said Kelly.
Shortly before, in Washington, US President Donald Trump said:
For the first time we are pushing gangsters out. We are getting rid of those bad guys at a pace never seen before, and it’s a military operation.”
Although these statements seemed to contradict Kelly’s, then Trump’s spokesman, Sean Spicer, explained that the president had used the term “military” simply “as an adjective” synonymous with “effective.”
The diplomats of both countries had been saying for several days that a relationship of respectful dialogue was being built. However, at the appearance of the four ministers, who did not accept questions, there was an atmosphere of discomfort.
Two strong and vibrant countries, from time to time, are going to have disagreements,”
said Tillerson.