Mexico angrily rejects new US deportation policy

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meets with Mexican leaders on Thursday to try to calm a row over President Donald Trump's trade and immigration policies.

A bid by US President Donald Trump to deport non-Mexican illegal migrants to Mexico that has enraged Mexicans will top the agenda of the meetings, Mexico sources said.

The US government on Tuesday said it would seek to deport many illegal immigrants to Mexico if they entered the United States from there, regardless of their nationality, prompting a fiery response from Mexican officials.

Calling the measure "unilateral" and "unprecedented," Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said new immigration guidelines would top the agenda of meetings in Mexico City with Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

Trump has outraged Mexico by vowing to build a wall along the border to keep out migrants, whom he branded rapists and criminals during his presidential campaign.

Apart from deportations, Trump has also threatened to put up barriers to Mexican exports, shift jobs from that country back to the United States and even halt remittances by US-based Mexicans back to their families.

Tillerson and Kelly were scheduled to meet with Pena Nieto at 1900 GMT after talks with Mexico's ministers of foreign affairs, finance and government.

Trump's stance on Mexico has driven the countries' relations to their lowest point in years.

Pena Nieto canceled a planned meeting with Trump in Washington last month over the US leader's vow to make Mexico pay for the wall.

US government officials said Tillerson and Kelly will aim to convince Mexico that it values their bilateral ties.