MEXICO CITY: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador dismissed United States (US) President Joe Biden’s suggestion that he would close the border with Mexico if given the power to do so, saying it is “demagogic”.
“It is very demagogic, the position that we are going to close the borders,” Anadolu Agency quoted Lopez Obrador saying on Monday during a televised morning press conference.
His criticism follows remarks Biden made over the weekend in which he said he would shut down the border “right now” if Congress passed a proposed border deal that would also unlock money for Ukraine.
Biden said a supplemental budget request he made to Congress late last year would give him, as president, the emergency authority to shut down the border until it can get back under control.
“If that bill were the law today, I’d shut down the border right now and fix it quickly,” he said.
As he focuses on his 2024 reelection campaign and defending his record to voters, Biden has been facing criticism from his Republican rivals over his immigration policies amid a dramatic spike in migration at the southern border.
The US Senate has yet to sign a new border deal.
By the end of December, over 10,000 migrants were reportedly crossing the US-Mexico border daily.
The spike in migration flows has led to a clash between US political parties, with Democrats and Republicans debating over control of the border. – BERNAMA-ANADOLU
