By Michael D. Shear
June 11, 2019
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday waved a piece of paper that he said was part of a “very long and very good” secret agreement with Mexico, refusing to describe it but vowing that it will go into effect whenever he wants it to.
The president’s dramatic flourish, delivered as he left the White House for a trip to Iowa, came a day after Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign minister, publicly denied that his country had reached an undisclosed immigration agreement with the United States.
To the contrary, Mr. Ebrard insisted during a news conference that Mexico and the United States had agreed to discuss more aggressive actions only if the agreements made last Friday do not slow the surge of migrants heading to the border.
“We will sit down and look at the measures you propose and those that we propose,” Mr. Ebrard told reporters.
For the second day in a row, Mr. Trump ignored that denial from Mexico’s top diplomat, insisting that his threat to impose tariffs on Mexican goods had forced Mexico to submit to an undisclosed agreement to combat what he views as an invasion from Central American migrants.
Asked by reporters to reveal what the agreement requires Mexico to do, Mr. Trump refused to do so, adding that “the reason is Mexico wants to handle that.”