Tillerson strikes different tone

By KYLIE ATWOOD
CBS NEWS
February 3, 2018, 6:50 PM

... Tillerson stood at a podium in Mexico City discussing immigration, the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Russia's global efforts to meddle in elections, and the fight against drug flows across the border that the U.S. and Mexico are taking on together. Tillerson made no mention of a border wall -- one of the president's key campaign promises on which Mr. Trump still focuses.

"We still value immigrants, and they bring enormous value to our continent," Tillerson said at a joint news conference with Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. "And that's what the president, though, is asking is, I want to know how this person who wants to come and live in our country is going to bring value to our country" ...

The positions Tillerson discussed on Friday didn't reflect the public stance of the president. Mr. Trump has called NATFA the "worst trade deal ever" and put America's neighbors on edge in warning that he may outright cancel the deal. Yet Tillerson had meetings with Mexico's president, foreign minister and intelligence officials that on Friday that State Department officials described as productive.

Steve Goldstein, the State Department's Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, said, "different people speak different ways but the policy hasn't changed." Goldstein said that in speaking about U.S. foreign policy, DACA, and other issues on Friday, Tillerson "wanted to get resolution, to be fair to people so that people could plan their lives, and he was sincere in that" ...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/secretary-of-state-rex-tillerson-strikes-tone-different-from-president-trump/