The Mexican government continues to react to the U.S. state of Arizona's new immigration law, issuing a travel alert and canceling an annual meeting with the state's government.
Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a travel warning Tuesday for Mexicans going to or residing in Arizona. In a statement, the ministry urges Mexicans to "act with prudence and with respect to the local legal framework."
The statement says that once the law takes effect, every Mexican citizen may be harassed and questioned without further cause at any time.
The new law requires immigrants in Arizona to carry registration documents with them at all times, and requires police to question people if there is reason to believe they are illegal immigrants.
On Monday, the government of the Mexican state of Sonora announced it has canceled the annual Sonora-Arizona Commission meeting scheduled for June, to protest the new law.
In a statement, Sonoran State Governor William Padres stressed the cancellation is not a break in relations with Arizona, but a response to the immigration issue. The Sonoran government says the two states have been holding the meetings on cross-border cooperation for more than 50 years.
On Monday, Mexican President Felipe Calderon condemned the new immigration law, saying it opens the door to intolerance, hate and discrimination.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the measure into law on Friday.
The Mexican leader also said he will bring up the issue when he travels to Washington next month to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama and legislators.
Opponents say the law will result in racial profiling in which police target people because of their race or ethnic background. Supporters say the measure will help combat a wave of crime blamed on illegal immigrants.
President Obama has described the immigration measure as "misguided" and said it threatens to undermine basic notions of fairness that Americans cherish. Mr. Obama said he has instructed his administration to determine whether the Arizona law is legal.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates there are at least 10 million illegal immigrants living in the United States.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.