Mexico slams US immigration plan ahead of Tillerson visit

Mexico indicated that it intends to take hard stand against Trump administration's new immigration directives that could have dramatic implications for the United States' southern neighbours, ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said his country is worried about recent actions that could greatly expand US deportations of undocumented immigrants, including sending non-Mexicans to Mexico.

"I want to make it clear, in the most emphatic way, that the Mexican government and the people of Mexico do not have to accept measures unilaterally imposed on a government by another government," CNN quoted Vudegaray as saying.

He spoke just hours before Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly arrive in Mexico for meetings on security, immigration, trade and the border with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and other officials.

President Donald Trump's rhetoric and policies have cranked up the tension in US-Mexico relations to a high not seen in decades.

Trump blamed the country for sending rapists into the US, castigated undocumented immigrants from across the border and blasted Mexico for what he says are unfair trade practices.

One of Trump's first actions as president was to order the construction of a border wall that he insists Mexico will pay for, despite the country's repeated refusals.

Earlier, Trump administration issued guidance on deportations that could apply to every undocumented immigrant in the US and enable state and local law enforcement to act as immigration officers.