MEXICO CITY, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Mexico would try to ensure migrants in the United States are given equal access to COVID-19 vaccines by citing labor provisions in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Wednesday.

The free trade agreement, in force since July 2020, includes provisions that guarantee health protections for migrants in member countries, regardless of their immigration status, noted Ebrard.

"We consider any exclusion of Mexican workers to be a violation of the free trade agreement's section on labor rights," said Ebrard.

Last week, Pete Ricketts, the governor of the U.S. state of Nebraska, raised the possibility that undocumented migrants in the state will be overlooked by the immunization campaign due to their immigration status.

Ebrard said Mexico will ask the incoming U.S. administration, which will take office on Jan. 20, to comply "100 percent" with the provisions of the USMCA.

According to Mexican government estimates, 38 million Mexicans live in the United States. Enditem

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