Anti-ICE riots have broken out in Los Angeles, California, and President Trump has called in the National Guard.
Those who oppose the immigration policies of President Trump may actually be helping him. Violence against immigration enforcement and the brandishing of the Mexican flag in a protest on U.S. soil can strengthen Trump’s case and bring more of the public over to his side.
On June 8th, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to the LA events, as part of a speech she was delivering in San Andres Cholula, Puebla.
Click here for the entire public presentation of which the speech was a part, the LA segment begins at about the 43 minute mark.
Here’s a photo of President Sheinbaum at Puebla, although she wasn’t smiling when she was talking about LA:
Sheinbaum’s approach was to spend a lot of time defending Mexicans in the United States without getting into how some of them got into the country illegally and how these protests are hurting her case.
Some excerpts: “The male and female Mexicans [sounds awkward in Spanish also] who live in the United States are good men and women, honest people, who went to the United States to seek a better life for themselves and contribute to their families. They are not criminals, they are good men and women, honest, they all have the solidarity of their government.”
These are typical talking points used by any recent Mexican president. She doesn’t mention however that the Mexicans being detained and deported from the U.S. are people who entered the country illegally or overstayed visas thus becoming illegal aliens.
Since she was in Puebla she brought up all the poblanos (Puebla people) in New York City:
“…there are so many poblanos and poblanas (male and female natives of Puebla) that they call it ‘Puebla York’ because New York would not be what it is if not for the poblanos there.”
She then applied the same logic to LA.
“Los Angeles would not be what it is if not for the male Mexicans and female Mexicans that are there.”
The problem with that line is you could interpret it two ways !
And of course, she said that “The United States is what it is thanks also to the work of the female Mexicans and male Mexicans who live on the other side of the border.”
President Sheinbaum expressed her disagreement with the how the U.S. is enforcing its immigration law. “We do not agree with the way of dealing with this migratory phenomenon, it is not with raids and with violence that you attend to the migratory phenomenon. It is sitting down, working on a comprehensive migratory reform that takes into account all the Mexicans who are on the other side of the border. That is our position. And always a call for peace, not violence, and not exacerbating any form of violent demonstration.”
Bottom line: The Mexican government doesn’t want the U.S. to enforce immigration law against Mexicans. So what else is new?
On the other hand, Sheinbaum understands that a new sheriff is in town north of the border and she has been cooperating, by accepting Mexican deportees.
Sheinbaum’s comments were not surprising and any Mexican president would say something similar. Such comments are designed for the Mexican public.
However, the American public is not likely to be convinced by her comments, and it’s in the U.S.A. that these events are occurring.