Mexico's new president pitches delicate balance on migration with Trump

By David Alire Garcia

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's new president outlined a delicate balancing act on Wednesday, stressing the need to work constructively with President-elect Donald Trump and his promise to deport millions of migrants while insisting she will urge "humanitarian" policies.

President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office last month, told a press conference that she expects to present the incoming U.S. leader with a proposal that will match his goal of reducing migration while stressing her support for migrants and their human rights.

Mexico's first woman president, the leftist Sheinbaum follows in the footsteps of her likeminded predecessor who also emphasized pro-migrant rhetoric but nevertheless worked closely with Trump, as well as outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden, to beef up measures aimed at stopping migrants from reaching the two nations' border.

"We're going to at some point present to President Trump a humanistic proposal," said Sheinbaum, stressing that it will "reduce immigration (and) attend to the root causes" of why people leave their home countries.

Sheinbaum suggested that initial calls with Trump, which she has repeatedly described as cordial, or those close to him, may indicate a lack of opposition to her ideas.

"They haven't (said) anything negative related to the proposal we're making," she said.

During his campaign, Trump stressed his plan for mass deportations, often deriding migrants as criminals.

He also threatened to slap steep tariffs on Mexican goods, including from the Latin American country's massive automaking sector, to leverage cooperation on border enforcement. Political analysts have said that among the stiffest tests set to face Sheinbaum once Trump takes office in late January is the health of U.S.-Mexico trade ties.

The United States is by far Mexico's most important foreign market, while Mexico last year overtook China to become the top destination for U.S. exports.

Without tipping her hand on details, Sheinbaum vowed that the relationship with Mexico's northern neighbor will be strong.

"Everyone who says that we're taking the arrival of President Trump lightly, we're always going to be positive with the idea that there will be a good relationship," she said.

But she did suggest that the biggest negative impact of Trump's proposed deportations will not be felt in Mexico.

"Regarding what's been said about deportations -- who will have the biggest problems?" she asked rhetorically.

"Well, the United States," she said.

(Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Laura Gottesdiener and Sandra Maler)