Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Wednesday rebuked U.S. politicians who use immigration in their election rhetoric and said his government is hoping to keep it under control to avoid the use of migrants as political pawns.
Specifically, the Mexican president criticized the tactics of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who recently made headlines for removing migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border and sending them to Democratic-run cities including New York and Washington, D.C.
“Ahead of the elections in the United States there’s … temptation to use the issue of immigration under political, electoral pretenses,” López Obrador said during one of his regular news briefings on Wednesday. “We’re already seeing it, how the Texas governor — who wants to be reelected — is transporting immigrants to New York. Or they send them to near the houses where Democratic politicians live.”
Calling the practice “indignant, offensive,” López Obrador said his government is “keeping an eye” on migration flows to make sure “that no tragedy happens.”
“[We are] making sure that there’s not an influx of migration these days because we know all these political practices, tricks,” López Obrador said, noting that American politicians on both sides of the aisle use immigration to “hurt each other politically.”
“We don’t want to be involved in these issues,” López Obrador said. “We don’t want the issue of immigration, and the topic of Mexico, to be in the U.S. debate agenda.”
López Obrador made these remarks after his government announced nearly 6,000 undocumented migrants had been registered in the country over the weekend.
Specifically, the Mexican president criticized the tactics of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who recently made headlines for removing migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border and sending them to Democratic-run cities including New York and Washington, D.C.
“Ahead of the elections in the United States there’s … temptation to use the issue of immigration under political, electoral pretenses,” López Obrador said during one of his regular news briefings on Wednesday. “We’re already seeing it, how the Texas governor — who wants to be reelected — is transporting immigrants to New York. Or they send them to near the houses where Democratic politicians live.”
Calling the practice “indignant, offensive,” López Obrador said his government is “keeping an eye” on migration flows to make sure “that no tragedy happens.”
“[We are] making sure that there’s not an influx of migration these days because we know all these political practices, tricks,” López Obrador said, noting that American politicians on both sides of the aisle use immigration to “hurt each other politically.”
“We don’t want to be involved in these issues,” López Obrador said. “We don’t want the issue of immigration, and the topic of Mexico, to be in the U.S. debate agenda.”
López Obrador made these remarks after his government announced nearly 6,000 undocumented migrants had been registered in the country over the weekend.