Mexican president threatens to increase illegal immigration

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador threatened that the “flow” of illegal immigrants into the United States “will continue” unless President Joe Biden’s administration agrees to his demands for the U.S. to provide billions of dollars to Latin American countries, remove sanctions on Venezuela, end the embargo of Cuba, and grant work visas to millions of illegal immigrants inside the U.S.

During a recent “60 Minutes” episode, López Obrador discussed the illegal immigration crisis currently facing the United States under the Biden administration. Asked by CBS News reporter Sharyn Alfonsi whether his country plans to “slow down migration,” the Mexican president said, “We do and want to continue doing it, but we do want for the root causes to be attended to, for them to be seriously looked at.”

López Obrador claimed that if the United States wants Mexico to help slow down the current rate of illegal immigration, the Biden administration would need to provide Latin American and Caribbean countries with $20 billion a year, legalize millions of illegal immigrants in the United States, end the U.S. embargo on Cuba, and remove sanctions against Venezuela.

López Obrador told Alfonsi that the reason the number of illegal immigrant crossings decreased between December and January was because Mexico was “more careful” about its own southern border. The Mexican president said his administration “spoke with the presidents of Central America, with the president of Venezuela and with the president of Cuba.”

READ MORE: Videos: Hundreds of illegal immigrants charge US-Mexico border

“We asked them for help in curbing the flow of migrants,” he said. “However, that is a short-term solution, not a long-term one.”

Asked what would happen if the Biden administration did not agree to his list of demands, the Mexican president warned, “The flow of migrants … will continue.”

In response to the Mexican president’s threat, Alfonsi said that critics of the Mexican president have accused López Obrador of engaging in “diplomatic blackmail” by refusing to address the illegal immigration crisis unless his demands are met.

“I am speaking frankly,” López Obrador told Alfonsi. “We have to say things as they are, and I always say what I feel. I always say what I think.”