Mexico’s President: Illegal Immigration Will Continue If Causes Not Addressed

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador attends the commemoration of his second anniversary in office at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, on Dec. 1, 2020. Marco Ugarte/AP Photo

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Sunday that the United States needs to comply with Latin American countries’ requests for aid otherwise the flow of illegal immigrants will continue.

In an interview with CBS' “60 Minutes,” Mr. Obrador said that “root causes” of illegal immigration need “to be attended to, for them to be seriously looked at.”

The “60 Minutes” interviewer noted that Mr. Obrador in January had demanded that the United States send $20 billion a year to Latin American nations, lift its sanctions on Venezuela, and end the decades-long embargo on Cuba. He also claimed the United States needs to legalize the millions of illegal immigrants from Mexico currently living in the country.

“If they don’t do the things that you’ve said need to be done, then what?” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi asked him “The flow of migrants will continue,” the Mexican president responded.

“Your critics have said what you’re doing, what you’re asking for to help secure the border, is diplomatic blackmail,” Ms. Alfonsi then asked. “What do you say?”

“I’m speaking frankly,” he said in response, adding: “We have to say things as they are. And I always say what I feel, I always say what I think.”

Later in the interview, Mr. Orbrador said that if his proposals are not taken up by the United States, his country would still provide border support “because our relationship is very important.”

During fiscal year 2023, some 2.47 million encounters were recorded at the U.S. border with Mexico, according to figures released by border officials. So far, there have been 1.51 million encounters during the fiscal year 2024.

Response

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday criticized the Mexican president for his recommendations on how to deal with the border crisis.

“Handing the reins of the Western Hemisphere’s security to communists in Cuba and socialists in Venezuela will only further destabilize the region and increase illegal immigration,” Mr. Johnson said in a statement. “Likewise, mass amnesty will only serve to expand the Mexican cartels’ already growing and dangerous human trafficking operation.”

His statement called on the federal government to coerce Mexico into becoming more compliant in dealing with the border problem.

“The President of Mexico is coddling cartels and demanding the United States bankroll even more mass migration into our country. President Biden needs to confront the fact that employing leverage, as President Trump did,” the House speaker said, adding that “we should be bringing every bit of leverage to compel the Mexican government to cooperate.”

Responding to earlier claims from Mr. Johnson that the United States could take coercive measures against Mexico, Mr. Orbrador said that his country is “not a colony” and “not a protectorate of any foreign country.”

“We have a very good relationship with the government of the United States—but not one of subordination,” the socialist president said.

In a more stark response on X, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wrote that the Mexican leader is suggesting “they will keep invading our country until we pay the bribe. This is a war. He is basically saying either we meet his demands or the invasion continues.”

On social media, Ms. Greene pivoted to her attempt to oust Mr. Johnson from being the House speaker.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks at the Capitol in Washington on March 20, 2024. J. Scott Applewhite/AP photo

“Speaker Johnson surrendered every tool we had to force the Biden admin to secure the border in the Omnibus government funding bills and now the President of Mexico is demanding a bribe in order to ’stem the invasion' NOT even stop it!! Johnson can NOT be Speaker of the House!” she wrote in a separate post on X.

It comes as figures released last week by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection show that Border Patrol agents made 140,644 arrests of people attempting to enter the country between the legal border crossing points during February. The numbers come after a December that saw the Border Patrol tally 249,785 arrests—a record high that increased tensions over immigration—before plunging in January.

Border officials have credited enforcement efforts by Mexico as well as seasonal fluctuations that affect when and where migrants attempt to cross the border for the drop from December to January and February.

In February, the Tucson sector in Arizona was by far the busiest region for migrant crossings between the ports of entry, followed by San Diego and El Paso, Texas. Separately, 42,100 migrants used an app called CBP One to schedule an appointment to present themselves at an official border crossing point to seek entry into the United States.

The administration has also allowed 30,000 people a month into the country from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela using the administration’s humanitarian parole authority. The migrants must have a financial sponsor in the United States and fly into an American airport. According to the data released Friday, 386,000 people from those four countries have been admitted to the country so far under that program.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.