Mexico Provides Legal Aid to Illegal Immigrants Arrested by ICE in Los Angeles
Mexico’s president is providing legal aid to the Mexican illegal migrants in Los Angeles who were recently arrested by ICE workplace operations.
The aid for detained illegal Mexican migrants is being provided via Mexico’s little-known network of consulates in many American cities. So far, there are no reports that Mexico is aiding any Mexicans arrested for rioting.
“Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said at least 42 Mexicans were being held after the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles,” according to the German media outlet Deutsche Welle. “He added that the vast majority of Mexicans detained were working when they were arrested.”
The pro-migration New York Timesadmitted:
Mexico’s foreign minister, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, said his country’s consular network in the United States had been providing legal advice to the 37 men and five Mexican nationals who have been detained in California. Four have already been deported to Mexico, he said, either because they had a removal order or because they had volunteered to return.
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President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico spoke out on Monday in defense of 42 Mexican nationals who have been arrested in Los Angeles. “We cannot intervene in the politics of the United States,” she said, making a “respectful but firm call” to U.S. authorities to respect the rule of law and the human rights of detainees. She also urged the Mexican community to act peacefully. “Burning patrol cars seems more an act of provocation than of resistance,” she said.
Mexico’s government provides a list of phone numbers for the 49 consulates in the U.S. For example, Mexicans in Washington state are invited to use consulates in Seattle or nearby Portland, Oregon. The consulates allow the government to keep Mexican migrants emotionally and economically tied to their home country.
There are roughly 4 million illegal Mexican migrants in the United States.
Sheinbaum’s comments on Monday follow similar comments on Sunday, spotlighting the great risks for Mexico caused by the Mexican flag riots in the American city of Los Angeles.
The risks climbed on Monday morning when GOP legislators announced they would push to expand the draft tax on remittances that flow to Mexico from Mexicans working American jobs.
Those remittances are very important to Mexico’s economy, and they recently fell by 12 percent because of the federal government’s crackdown on illegal migrants.
Sheinbaum is trying to zig-zag through the crisis for Mexico. “Raids and violence are not the way to address the migration phenomenon,” Sheinbaum told the Mexican media on Sunday:
It means sitting down and working on comprehensive immigration reform [amnesty] that takes into account all Mexicans on the [U.S.] side of the border (…) always calling for peace, nonviolence, and not exacerbating any form of violent protest … Mexican men and women living [illegally] in the United States are good, honest men and women who came to the United States to seek a better life for themselves and their families; they are not criminals.
But in the crisis, many of the rioters and their supporters are reverting to Mexican nationalism, for example by displaying the country’s flag in a U.S. city. The New York Times reported Sunday:
“I am a very proud American,” said Ms. [Elizabeth] Torres, whose grandparents immigrated to the United States. “But I have to show support also for our Mexican brothers and sisters.”
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“I came out here to support my people and show them where we came from,” [Eric] Torres said. “My parents are immigrants. Most of the people right here have immigrant parents, so I’m here to support, show them our love.”
Mexico’s growing entanglement in U.S. migration politics may sway U.S. judges to accept the administration’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act for fast-track deportations.
