Trump will visit Mexico today before immigration speech

EVERETT, Wash. --In a surprise move, Donald Trump will travel to Mexico today to meet with President Enrique Pena Nieto, hours before the Republican delivers a highly anticipated speech on immigration.

Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday night to say he looks "very much forward" to meeting with the Mexican leader.

Pena Nieto's office confirmed the meeting with its own tweet, saying the two men would meet privately.

The unexpected trip comes as Trump seeks to clarify his stand on illegal immigration, a contentious issue that has been a centerpiece of his Republican presidential campaign. Trump long has called for deporting people living in the U.S. illegally and building a wall along the country's border with Mexico.

But in meetings recently with Hispanic supporters, Trump has suggested he could be open to changing the hardline approach he outlined during the GOP primaries. After one such roundtable this month, his new campaign manager said Trump's stance on deportations was "to be determined."

In the days since, Trump and his staff have broadcast varied and conflicting messages, with Trump saying one day he might be open to "softening" his stance, and days later saying he might, in fact, be "hardening."

Pena Nieto has been critical of Trump's original immigration policy, particularly the Republican's insistence Mexico would pay for the border wall.

In a March interview, Pena Nieto said "there is no scenario" under which Mexico would do so.

In the same interview, Pena Nieto compared Trump's language to that of dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, saying it had hurt U.S.-Mexico relations.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a close Trump adviser, has been among those pushing Trump to make the trip to Mexico, according to a person familiar with their conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss them publicly.

Christie made his own successful trip to Mexico City in September 2014 and has a warm relationship with the Mexican president.

Pena Nieto extended invitations to visit Mexico to both Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton last week. The Washington Post first reported Tuesday that Trump was considering making the trip to Mexico.

Trump is scheduled to speak on immigration this evening in Phoenix. He already was out West on Tuesday for a campaign stop near Seattle, giving him enough time to jet to Mexico before the speech today.

Trump's short stop in Mexico marks his first campaign visit to a foreign country. The Republican has faced a torrent of criticism from Clinton, a former secretary of state, about his preparedness to lead on the world stage. Several Republican foreign-policy experts have also warned Trump is unprepared for the international issues that land on a president's desk.

Clinton's campaign has urged voters to not "be fooled" by what it calls Trump's attempts to disguise his immigration policies.

"Donald Trump will be who he has always been: Donald Trump," the campaign said in an email Tuesday night.