Exclusive: Rep. Troy Nehls Condemns Mexican President for ‘Diplomatic Blackmail’ to Crack Down on Illegal Immigration

Mexico
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) filed a resolution Tuesday condemning Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s (AMLO) comments on 60 Minutes on March 24, 2024 and calling on the Mexican government to limit illegal immigration, Breitbart News learned first.

The Biden administration asked “for us to try and contain the flow of migration,” Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, told 60 Minutes in a March 24 broadcast, as Breitbart News reported extensively. But “the flow of migrants will continue” if Biden does not cooperate with Mexico’s ambitions, Obrador said.

Those ambitions, as described by 60 Minutes, are:

…that the United States commit $20 billion a year to four countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, lift sanctions on Venezuela and the Cuban embargo, and legalize [amnesty] millions of law-abiding Mexicans living in the US.

“I’m speaking frankly,” Obrador told 60 Minutes. “We have to say things as they are, and I always say what I feel. I always say what I think.”

Nehls’ resolution condemns AMLO’s comments and calls on the Mexican Government to limit illegal immigration by securing its own southern border, reaching an agreement with the United States for Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)/Remain in Mexico, and establishing a Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States.

Nehls

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 21: Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) speaks during a press conference at the Capitol Triangle on July 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. The group called for increased funding for law enforcement agencies across the country. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

“The comments made by Mexico’s President are reprehensible and equate to diplomatic blackmail,” the Texas congressman said in a statement to Breitbart. “To mitigate illegal immigration, Mexico should secure its own border, reimplement President Trump’s successful ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, and establish a Safe Third Country agreement with the United States.”

Nehls and many other Republicans have ruthlessly criticized Biden and his border policies, even impeaching his Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, in February.

But as AMLO’s comments reveal, instead of pursuing policies the Trump administration used successfully to curb illegal immigration – which the Biden administration began disassembling within hours of Biden’s inauguration, Biden is plotting to farm out border enforcement to the Mexican government. And he is willing to make significant concessions at the expense of American taxpayers to do it.

By orchestrating his scheme surreptitiously, Biden is attempting to avoid the ire of both his leftwing base and wealthy donors who favor unencumbered immigration, while simultaneously meagerly reducing the unprecedented volume of border crossings in an effort to assuage independent voters who remain concerned with the migrant crisis.

In an approaching election year panic, the Biden administration asked Mexico in December – a month during which AMLO let a record-breaking flood of 251,000 illegal migrants cross the U.S. border far from the official border gates – to slash the northward flow of illegals during the 2024 election year.

EAGLE PASS, TEXAS - DECEMBER 17: In an aerial view, a U.S. Border Patrol agent watches over migrants waiting to be processed after crossing from Mexico into the United States on December 17, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. A surge of migrants, as many as 12,000 per day, crossing the U.S. southern border has overwhelmed U.S. immigration authorities. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

EAGLE PASS, TEXAS – DECEMBER 17: In an aerial view, a U.S. Border Patrol agent watches over migrants waiting to be processed after crossing from Mexico into the United States on December 17, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. A surge of migrants, as many as 12,000 per day, crossing the U.S. southern border has overwhelmed U.S. immigration authorities. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

After the Biden administration quickly agreed to his terms, AMLO suddenly slashed the illegal inflow by 50 percent in January.

Nehls, who supported the House-passed H.R. 2 that would reinstate many of Trump’s border and immigration policies, including those he calls for in his resolution, ripped Biden for colluding with the Mexican president instead of doing his duty.

“When did the United States of America start to meet the ‘demands’ of a foreign country?,” Nehls asked. “I’ll tell you when—when Joe Biden became president. This is completely unacceptable.”

Reps. Jake Ellzey (R-TX) and Tom Tiffany (R-WI) cosponsored Nehls’ resolution.

Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.

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