Donald Trump on Wednesday was to deliver what has been billed as a major immigration policy speech in the south-western border state of Arizona, after making a quick trip to Mexico, a country he has often derided in his campaign for US president.

Trump was set to touch down in Mexico City at approximately 11:30 am (1630 GMT), and his speech in the Arizona capital of Phoenix was scheduled for 6 pm (0100 GMT Thursday).

‘I have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow,’ Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

Pena Nieto invited Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to meet him, his office said in a statement.

But Trump has been far from flattering in his descriptions of the US' southern neighbour, using Twitter to call the Mexican court system ‘corrupt’ and warning, ‘Don't do business with Mexico!’  In another tweet Trump said, ‘I love the Mexican people, but Mexico is not our friend. They're killing us at the border and they're killing us on jobs and trade. Fight!’  Trump has made his hardline stance on immigration a central part of his campaign since he announced his candidacy and has drawn fire from critics for his vow to build a wall and for calling Mexican immigrants ‘rapists’ and criminals.

He has repeatedly pledged to build a wall on the US-Mexico border that he said the Mexican government would pay for and called for the deportation of 11 million people.

However, in recent days the Trump campaign issued a series of mixed messages on the issue, one day suggesting a softening of his position with a possible plan to legalize millions of immigrants, while the next inviting relatives of people killed by illegal immigrants to appear at his rallies.

Reacting to Trump's Mexico trip announcement, the Clinton campaign reiterated that ‘From the first days of his campaign, Donald Trump has painted Mexicans as 'rapists' and criminals and has promised to deport 16 million people, including children and US citizens.’  At a meeting with US President Obama in June, the Mexican president expressed his willingness to work with whomever is the next leader of the US, despite the deep reservations he has about policies advocated by Trump.

Pena Nieto said Trump's demagogic rhetoric would tear down what had taken decades to build, going so far as to compare it to that used by Adolf Hitler or Benito Mussolini.

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