Mexico’s President Attacks Republican Governor

Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash

On Monday (May 8), Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador described Florida’s new proposed immigration law as “immoral” during a press conference.

According to reporting by Politico, López Obrador took aim at the Florida GOP-backed immigration bill, slamming it for being “immoral” and merely “politicking.”

Last week, Florida’s GOP-led Legislature past a bill that earmarks $12 million for a Florida program that was used in the past to fly migrants out of the state to Martha’s Vineyard, which critics say was inhumane.

During the press conference, López Obrador queried why Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has to “take of advantage” of the pain and needs of Migrants “for political gain.”

According to Politico, the Mexican President declared the legislation to be “immoral… politicking.”

López Obrador also revealed that he discovered that “Florida’s Governor — imagine, Florida, which is full of immigrants — is taking repressive and inhumane measures” against migrants in Florida because of his desire to become a Presidential candidate.

If approved, the bill López Obrador referenced would also deny funds to issue IDs to undocumented immigrants and revoke driver’s licenses in Florida issued to undocumented immigrants by other states.

Last month, leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) condemned the proposals, saying in a statement that the new measures are part of “Florida Republicans’ anti-immigrant agenda.”

In a statement the CHC asserted that Republican-led Florida Legislature’s recent policies display that Governor DeSantis has a “preference for fearmongering, promoting racial profiling, and damaging Florida’s economy,” instead of “supporting the state’s Hispanic population in their time of need.”