Mexico Tells Biden Admin: Do What We Say Or Wave Of Illegal Immigrants Will Not Stop
Photo credit: Sgt. 1st Class Ian Morales
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Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) publicly signaled to the Biden administration during an interview with “60 Minutes” what will happen if the U.S. government does not give in to his demands.
As I wrote in February, President Joe Biden’s weak leadership on the world stage is what allowing the border crisis to be the major problem that it still is. AMLO said the U.S. must do the following:
The U.S. commit $20 billion a year to poor countries in Latin America and the Caribbean
Lift sanctions on Venezuela
End the Cuban embargo
Legalize millions of law-abiding Mexicans living in the U.S.
And if our government does not do those things?
“The follow of migrants…will continue,” AMLO replied.
When asked if those demands are “political blackmail,” AMLO said, “I’m speaking frankly. We have to say things as they are. And I always say what I feel. I always say what I think.”
But AMLO then said he would continue to help “secure” their border. (Ha!)
This is another example of how Mexico has the upper hand when dealing with the U.S. because of Biden’s weak leadership. The vast majority of illegal immigrants now crossing the southern border are not Mexicans. That means Mexico has the ability to restrict the flow of illegal immigrants going through its territory if it wanted to. But the Mexican government does not. Why? Because not only can they make more money from the millions more people making the journey north, but it can secure concessions from the U.S. it would not have the leverage to make in normal times.
Take the demand the U.S. legalize Mexican citizens illegally living in our country. How does that work to solve the problem of Venezuelans, Brazilians, Colombians, Haitians, and the many other non-Mexicans who are coming to our border? It does not, but it would give AMLO’s party a victory ahead of their elections this summer should that longshot idea come to pass.
The $20 billion a year to Latin American countries could at least give them the cover to say money is going to address the “root causes” of illegal immigration, but, ignoring the fact we have already spent millions of dollars in the region and the results are as if no money was spent, it would barely put a dent in the problem. While people from Central and South America do make the majority of illegal crossings right now, people from all over the world are taking advantage of Biden’s open border, so we would be spending billions a year to maybe bring down crossings in one region of the world while the rest comes through.
The fact is Mexico holds all the cards now. The drop in illegal crossings from Mexico into Texas earlier this year was because of two things: The public showdown between Texas and the U.S. government in Eagle Pass and Mexico doing internal operations in their northeast. Granted, those factors pushed illegal crossings to take place into Arizona and California. While Mexico can’t hold back everybody, they have shown today and in the past can cut down on the number of people making it to their northern border.
It is worth remembering, President Donald Trump got Mexico to agree to the Migrant Protection Protocols, Remain-in-Mexico, without having to make any compromise. AMLO is also benefiting from not having to care much anymore with how the U.S. government reacts to his demands since he will be leaving office soon. But that is not to say AMLO’s approach will go away soon as the leading presidential candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, is from his party and worked for him for many years.