Mexico agreed to expand a controversial asylum program as part of tariff deal

President Trump will not levy new tariffs on goods from Mexico after all, he announced on Friday. The two sides reportedly reached a deal, with Mexico agreeing to "take strong measures to stem the tide of migration" at the southern border.

In a joint declaration, both countries said Mexico agreed to expand a "controversial" program commonly known as Remain in Mexico that sends migrants seeking asylum in the United States to Mexico while they wait to hear the results of their cases. As part of the agreement, Mexico will also reportedly begin deploying militarized National Guard troops to its southern border in an attempt to stop illegal migrants from Central America traveling to the United States through Mexico.

Mexico did not agree to a U.S. demand that Mexico accept a "safe third country" designation, however. That is, the agreement will not force Mexico to permanently take in most Central American asylum seekers, Reuters reports. Nor did Mexico accept U.S. requests to send deported Guatemalans to Mexico.

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The U.S. also reportedly agreed to jointly address underlying causes of migration from Central America.

"I think it's a fair balance because they had more drastic measures and proposals at the start and we reached some middle point," Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said of the deal. Read more at Reuters.