But her office later issued a statement saying: "There is no agreement of any type between the future federal government of Mexico and that of the United States of America".

There was no immediate comment from the White House on the deal that the Washington Post said took shape last week in Houston during a meeting between Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's incoming foreign minister, and top US officials including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Lopez Obrador will take office on December 1.

Amid the stinging gas, several migrants turned back, even as others tried to forge ahead.

This is despite media reports saying the new government had agreed to a "Remain in Mexico" policy during U.S. background checks as a "short term solution".

Amid heated rhetoric from Donald Trump and confusion over a reported deal to keep asylum seekers in Mexico, all traffic was halted on Sunday at the busy border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana.

"Because of the absence, the apathy and the abandonment of the federal government, we are having to turn to worldwide institutions like the U.N.", Figueroa said.

According to the newspaper, the plan was called "Remain in Mexico".

U.S. officials have said for months that they were working with Mexico to find solutions for what they have called a border crisis.

Immigration, including recent issues tied to asylum seekers from Central America, was a flashpoint in this month's US midterm elections and will probably continue to play a key role in the new Congress and in shaping the debate ahead of the 2020 presidential vote. Close to 3,000 migrants took Mexico up on the offer.

But, Sanchez said on Saturday that the next government does not plan for Mexico to become a "Safe Third" country.

The mayor of Tijuana has declared a humanitarian crisis in his border city and says that he has asked the United Nations for aid to deal with the approximately 5,000 Central American migrants who have arrived in the city. Many hope to apply for asylum in the U.S. but agents at the San Ysidro entry point have been processing fewer than 100 asylum petitions a day.

He claimed Central American countries are trying to dump "certain people" into the United States.

In video captured in Mexico, hundreds of members of the caravan could be seen marching across a canal toward the border. It would mark a victory for the hard-line immigration advisers within Trump's administration.

The closures come as around 500 migrants overwhelmed federal and local Mexican police blockades and rushed toward the USA border near Tijuana, Mexico.

Robledo said the incoming government wanted to find jobs for Central American migrants in sectors that are short-staffed, such as maquila assembly plants.