Mexican Officials Warn Trump Tariffs Could Exacerbate Immigration Problem

Mexican diplomats warned Monday that the Trump administration’s threat to impose tariffs on all Mexican imports to the U.S. until the country does more to control the flow of illegal immigrants could have the opposite effect of exacerbating the situation at the southern border.

The move may well be “counterproductive,” said Mexican ambassador to the U.S. Martha Barcena during emergency talks in Washington, D.C. on Monday. “Without Mexico’s efforts, an additional quarter million migrants could arrive at the U.S. border in 2019.”

Trump’s announcement, made at the end of last month on Twitter, called for a 5 percent tariff on all products from Mexico to take effect on June 10 and continue until “the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied.” The U.S. will progressively raise tariffs to 25 percent by October if Mexico refuses to take action on immigration, according to the White House.

Trump Threatens Putin with ‘Very Severe’ Consequences if Peace Process Stalls Ahead of Alaska Summit

Report Exposes Trans Lobby’s Grip on Children’s Hospitals – It’s Time to Root Them Out

DC sues Trump administration over ‘hostile takeover’ of MPD

Man struck, killed on freeway while fleeing immigration agents during Home Depot raid

Thomas Massie ‘extremely vulnerable’ to GOP primary challenge, poll shows

Bondi puts sanctuary cities nationwide on notice after DC police federal takeover

Florida to open ‘Deportation Depot’ at shuttered prison weeks after launching ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ facility

DC sues Trump administration over ‘unlawful’ federal takeover

DC officials defy Bondi order appointing ‘emergency police commissioner’ in federal takeover

Comedy Gold: Watch Karen Bass Lose Her Mind After Border Patrol Crashes Newsom’s News Conference

Op-Ed: The Left Is Litigating America Into an Energy Crisis

AG showdown: DC attorney general rejects US Attorney General Pam Bondi order as ‘unlawful’

Trump to hold historic summit with Putin in Alaska seeking an end to Russia–Ukraine war

Trump-Putin summit: The reality of where things stand on the Ukraine battlefield

The Congress to prison to Congress pipeline

“Slapping tariffs, along with a decision to cancel aid programs to the northern Central American countries, could have a counterproductive effect and would not reduce migrations flows,” Mexican foreign-affairs secretary Marcelo Ebrard said. “The tariffs could be very costly for the U.S. economy, for consumers in the United States, and the Mexican economy.”

Mexico’s agriculture secretary, Víctor Manuel Villalobos, said a 5 percent tariff on Mexican products headed to the U.S. would cut such trade by $1.4 billion annually.

Mexico is “willing to continue to work with the U.S. to address issues of common concern,” Ebrard said. “We believe our countries can reach a deal on how to face a matter on which our approaches are different.”

The officials also highlighted Mexico’s current efforts to control illegal immigration to the U.S., with Barcena noting that the country has deported more than 80,000 migrants back to their countries of origin. Mexico is also allowing nearly 9,000 migrants to stay in Mexico as they await asylum hearings in the U.S., and hosting another 18,000 migrants who plan to apply for asylum as soon as availability allows.