MEXICO CITY, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Mexico on Tuesday condemned U.S. immigration policy that separates undocumented migrant children from their families as "cruel and inhumane."
Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Videgaray also called on the United States "to reconsider" the policy that has separated about 2,000 Mexican and Central American families since April.
"On behalf of the people and government of Mexico, I want to express our most categoric and emphatic condemnation of a cruel and inhumane policy," Videgaray told reporters at a press conference.
Mexico's government has taken steps to overturn the policy, he said, including delivering a message Monday night to U.S. President Donald Trump, whose "zero tolerance" immigration policy has led to the unprecedented step of taking children away from their parents and keeping them in separate detention facilities.
Following U.S. media reports that some of the children are unaccounted for, Mexico also requested better coordination between authorities from the two countries to maintain an updated registry of the migrant parents and children affected, and that separated family members be allowed to communicate on a daily basis.
The policy "clearly violates human rights and places small children in a situation of vulnerability," said Videgaray.
The minister said he had spoken by phone earlier in the day with Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, to reiterate Mexico's position.
In keeping with migration trends, the vast majority of families targeted by the new policy have been from Central American nations, such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Of the 1,995 cases of minors separated from their families since the policy was enforced in April, 25 involve Mexican citizens, or about one percent of the cases, according to Videgaray.
Most of the Mexican minors have already been repatriated and reconnected with relatives in Mexico, but seven remain in U.S. government detention centers, including a small girl with Downs Syndrome, and consular personnel are "attending" to her case, he said.
However, Mexico has the "moral obligation" to work to relieve the situation for all children who have fallen victim of the hardline immigration policy, said Videgaray.
Mexico will be meeting with representatives of the Central American governments on Friday to coordinate efforts, exchange information, "and outline our positions" at international organizations such as the United Nations, said the minister.
"We call on the highest levels (of the U.S. government) to reconsider this policy and prioritize the wellbeing of the rights of children, regardless of their nationality or migratory status," said Videgaray.
