An exultant President Trump taking victory laps on Twitter, “Everyone very excited about the new deal with Mexico. There is now going to be great cooperation between Mexico and the USA, something that didn’t exist for decades.” In Tijuana, Mexican President Lopez Obrador hailed a trade war averted. 

We celebrate the important agreement because it was a very difficult situation and would have been very awkward applying tariffs to some US products, the same measures commercial restrictions similarly to the ones that would be imposed on Mexican exports.

The Accord calls for Mexico to better patrol its southern border with Guatemala and to hold asylum seeking migrants while their cases are heard in the United States.

In a statement, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was good news that US families won’t be hit with the price increases that would have resulted from new tariffs on imports from Mexico.

McConnell also urged more funds for operations along the US-Mexico border, accusing Democrats of dragging their heels and engaging in political gamesmanship. Democrats meanwhile say Trump’s own actions have worsened the migrant crisis and that the deal with Mexico was no masterstroke of White House diplomacy. The president has completely overblown what he purports to have achieved. These are agreements that Mexico had already made in some cases months ago. By and large, the president achieved nothing except to jeopardize the most important trading relationship that the United States of America has. There are six million jobs in this country that depend on US-Mexico trade.

For Central American migrants, a perilous journey to the United States is expected to become even more difficult. Everyone should think about the reasons that cause us to migrate and leave our families, our country and come to another country. Instead of closing doors, they should give us an opportunity to demonstrate that we are people who want a job.The only thing we want is a better future for our children and our families.

Some say they will not be deterred.

You can close the border. You can build a thousand walls and a thousand walls will be crossed by land, by air. They’re always going to get in. Donald Trump can do whatever he wants.

Migrant arrivals at the US-Mexico border are surpassing 100,000 a month, including record numbers of families and unaccompanied minors.

Michael Bowman VOA news Washington. 

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Words in This Story

exultant – adj. feeling or showing that you are very proud or happy, especially because of something exciting that has happened

gamesmanship – n. the ability to win games by making your opponent less confident and using rules to your advantage

diplomacy – n. the activity of managing relations between different countries; the skill in doing this

perilous – adj. very dangerous