An attempt to capitalize on the arrival of 135 deported Mexican nationals by having the president welcome them backfired when some of the migrants said the government abandoned them and would return to the U.S. as soon as possible.
The event took place at Mexico City’s airport when Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto welcomed a group of 135 Mexican nationals who had just been deported from the United States.
“You are not alone, do not feel abandoned” Peña Nieto said. “The doors to this, your house, will always be open.”
During his speech, Peña Nieto called Mexico a land of new opportunities as he talked about various programs, new investments, and the support that the newly-deported individuals would be receiving.
“Today there has been the creation of jobs not seen before and there is productive investment,” EPN said.
The words spoken by the Mexican president come at a time when the peso has been consistently losing value against the U.S. dollar and the price of gasoline continues to rise. During the event by EPN, government officials told the migrants about government credits of $25,000 pesos or roughly $1,200 USD so they could start their own business.
“The Mexican consulates in the United States do not do anything for us, they are sending massive airplanes and sending a lot of people,” said one of the deported migrants. “I do not think its fair. No one is there to help on that side nor on this side, we have to do something for our people.”
Pedro Vasquez, another Mexican migrant who was interviewed by various news outlets at the airport, said he would be traveling back to the United States within 15 days and that a wall would not be able to stop him. The 38-year-old man from the Mexican State of Hidalgo had been living in Georgia making about $4,800 a month before his arrest for driving without a license.
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