Mexican President López Obrador denies tightening immigration measures due to U.S. pressure
López Obrador denies tightening of immigration measures and highlights collaboration with the US. Discover the details in our article.
- AMLO denies tightening immigration measures.
- He is accused of being pressured by the U.S.
- «I don’t let myself be pressured by anyone,» he stressed.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador dismisses suggestions that his government has tightened immigration measures.
However, he acknowledges cooperating with the U.S. regarding the migration situation that is affecting both countries.
The president pointed out that the political attention to the immigration issue in the elections in both countries is challenging.
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AMLO denies tightening immigration measures due to U.S. pressure
The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, denied on Thursday that his administration has toughened immigration measures.
He is accused of bending to pressure from the United States.
“No, I don’t let myself be pressured by anyone, Mexico is an independent country and the president of Mexico acts freely, he is not a puppet of any foreign government,” he declared.
«That’s already happened, that’s also what’s gone and I hope it doesn’t come back,» the Mexican leader responded to an direct question in his morning conference.
Why is AMLO being asked about this?
His remarks follow a joint statement issued on Monday with President Biden, after the two had a phone call.
He said they agreed to «work together to immediately implement concrete measures to significantly reduce irregular border crossings while protecting human rights.»
Despite denying the pressure and insisting that Biden «has never made a unilateral decision,» López Obrador acknowledged that Mexico does help the United States because they are «neighboring countries» that share a nearly 2,000 mile border.
«We cannot detach ourselves, break up,» he said, according to the EFE agency.
Will immigration affect the elections in both countries?
Likewise, he pointed out that migration is an increasingly important issue at the political level because this year the presidential elections in Mexico and the United States come at a time of heavier migration in 2023.
For this reason, he argued that there is «the problem for American politicians, of both parties.»
«Instead of addressing the causes, they dedicate themselves to nothing more than politicking, to using the immigration issue for electoral purposes,» he highlighted.
«And since there are elections now, everyone there is talking about how they are going to build walls, that they are going to militarize the border, blaming each other,» he continued.
What will happen next?
The president reiterated that irregular migration has fallen by more than 50% on Mexico’s border with the United States.
It reported about 12,000 daily encounters with undocumented immigrants in December and 5,812 in April, according to the data presented by López Obrador.
“However, we have to be very attentive because this is a political issue in the presidential campaign,” he commented, according to EFE.
Regarding sending the military to the border, where there are nearly 30,000 members dedicated to immigration tasks, he responded that «politics is also choosing between inconveniences.»