Letter to the Hon. Mike Pompeo - Members to Pompeo: What Negotiations Led to Remain in Mexico Policy and Were They Bilateral?
Letter
Dear Secretary Pompeo:
We write to you to request the text and details of any agreement between the government of the United States and the government of Mexico regarding the recently announced Remain in Mexico policy, also referred to as the Migration Protection Protocols, in addition to answers to the other questions below.
We are concerned about the discrepancy between the statements of both the government of the United States and that of Mexico and public reporting on the agreement. While both the government of the United States and that of Mexico have described this as a unilateral policy of the United States that the Mexican government has accepted, reporting over the last month has indicated that there have been negotiations between the two sides on this policy.
Given contradicting media reports, often sourced to Trump Administration officials, we request prompt answers to the following questions:
When did the government of the United States first approach the government of Mexico regarding the Remain in Mexico policy or the Migration Protection Protocols and which government agencies in the United States were involved in any such conversation?
Did the government of the United States entered into any agreement, formal or otherwise, with the government of Mexico prior to the December 20 announcement of the change in asylum policy? If so, when were these agreements reached and what are the details of these agreements?
Has the government of the United States entered into any agreement, formal or otherwise, with the government of Mexico to guide the implementation of this change in our asylum policy and our protocols with Mexico? If so, when were these agreements reached and what are the details of these agreements?
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Joaquin Castro
Chair Elect
Congressional Hispanic Caucus
Eliot L. Engel
Ranking Member
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Albio Sires
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere
Committee on Foreign Affairs
cc:
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Kimberly Breier
Chargé d'Affaires at the United States Embassy to Mexico, John S. Creamer
Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen
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