Mexico foreign secretary will meet Trump Cabinet officials in DC

By Rafael Bernal - 02/08/17 12:09 PM EST

\

The Mexican secretary of Foreign Relations will meet Trump administration officials Wednesday in Washington, D.C., after a presidential visit was canceled in January following a public fight over who would pay for President Trump's proposed border wall.

Secretary Luis Videgaray is scheduled to meet Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly.

"It is expected that Secretary Videgaray will discuss topics from the bilateral agenda that have been identified as priorities by President Enrique Peña Nieto: protection of Mexicans in the United States, migration, border security and infrastructure, and the different levels of cooperation between both countries," a release sent by the Mexican government stated.

Videgaray last visited Washington in January, before Tillerson was confirmed by the Senate, when he also met with White House officials including chief of staff Reince Priebus.

That trip, a preamble to Peña Nieto's scheduled visit the following week, became contentious after Trump tweeted, "If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting."

After Peña Nieto canceled, the two presidents had a phone call to clear the air, but fragments of the call's transcript were leaked, further inflaming tensions. Despite the friction, the two administrations agreed not to discuss the border wall in public.

Peña Nieto and his advisers have consistently said they would continue negotiations with the United States, despite domestic pressure in Mexico to withdraw from the talks.

Democrats have made repeated calls to normalize relations with Mexico.

"The fact that there’s a meeting suggests there’s an opportunity to resolve the tensions created by Trump and that’s a good thing," said Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

http://thehill.com/latino/318496-mexico-foreign-secretary-will-meet-trump-cabinet-officials-in-dc

Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn