Risch, Colleagues Introduce Resolution on U.S.-Mexico Relations

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today led Senators Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) in reintroducing a resolution on U.S.-Mexico relations.

“The United States and Mexico have many shared interests, including a more secure, prosperous, and democratic Western Hemisphere. Unfortunately, these interests are undermined by the ongoing security crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, as detailed in my committee report last year, and the erosion of the security and economic conditions in Mexico,” said Risch. “It is time the United States and Mexico take meaningful action to effectively combat transnational criminal activities, including the illicit trafficking of fentanyl, promote private sector investments and the integrity of the USMCA, and strengthen the institutions needed to address the negative influence of China and Russia in our hemisphere. I hope the committee will vote on this measure soon.”

“It’s critical for the United States and Mexico to have a strong, transparent, and reciprocal partnership for the security and prosperity of our two nations and the stability of the Western Hemisphere,” said Hagerty. “I implore Presidents Biden and López Obrador to champion the integrity of the USMCA, effectively address the national security and humanitarian crisis at the southern border, halt once and for all the deadly flow of fentanyl and fentanyl precursors from China through Mexico and into American communities, and find opportunities to attract investment and unlock the economic opportunity presented by the global rebalancing of supply chains away from Communist China.”

“The Biden administration is failing to fully enforce our laws. This breakdown threatens the national security of the United States on issues ranging from illegal immigration to counter-narcotics. Mexican President Lopez Obrador seems dead-set on worsening each of these crises by refusing to take any measures to alleviate them. This resolution exemplifies the U.S.’s unwillingness to accept inaction on these reckless policies. Make no mistake, we will hold him and his administration accountable,” said Cruz.

“The Biden Administration’s and Mexican government’s bilateral relationship continues to be tested. Whether it’s López Obrador’s ties to anti-American and Marxist tyrants in our region, Biden’s border crisis that is directly impacting the American people, or the reality that transnational criminal organizations control entire sections of Mexico and flood American communities with fentanyl, we must do everything in our power to protect our nation and the defend the rule of law in the region from these threats,” said Rubio.

“The U.S. and Mexico economic relationship is essential to the livelihoods of many Americans, but the deteriorating security environment within Mexico has put that partnership at risk,” said Wicker. “We need to be able to work together, or the border will continue to be policed by the cartels and criminal activity will run rampant.”

“For over 200 years, the United States and Mexico have strived to develop a strong and mutually beneficial relationship. It is clear our two nations still have a lot more to do to combat the crisis along our southern border,” said Barrasso. “The Biden administration must work with Mexico and take immediate action to stop this never ending surge of illegal migrants and drugs into our country. Our resolution reaffirms the importance of collaboration between our two countries on economic prosperity, humanitarian efforts, and national security.”

This resolution:

• Reaffirms support for mutually beneficial U.S.-Mexico relations, including stronger economic engagement;
• Expresses concerns about the worsening investment climate in Mexico and encourages the Biden Administration to defend U.S. economic interests by upholding the integrity of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement;
• Urges the Biden Administration to address the humanitarian and security crisis at the U.S. southern border by establishing effective immigration controls in the United States, targeting U.S. foreign assistance efforts to strengthen border security and migration management capacities in the region, and leveraging existing bilateral extradition treaties and the Palermo Protocols to prosecute transnational criminal actors facilitating illegal migration to the United States;
• Calls for the prioritization of a detailed plan to reduce the production and trafficking of illicit narcotics in Mexico, including fentanyl produced with precursor chemicals from China; and
• Encourages the government of Mexico to also take action to address the items above.

Text of the resolution can be found here.

Last year, Risch led several SFRC minority colleagues in publishing a report highlighting how the Biden Administration is undermining U.S. efforts to reduce illegal migration and the governments of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are falling short on their own domestic and international obligations to address transnational organized crime and illegal migration issues. A copy of the report can be found here.

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