Trade Adviser Navarro: Mexico's 'Criminal Enterprise' to Blame for Migrants

Mexico is running a "criminal enterprise" by exporting illegal aliens to the United States, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Friday.

During an interview on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," Navarro defended President Donald Trump's Thursday night announcement that he plans to place tariffs on all imports from Mexico until it clamps down on migrants passing through to the United States.

"If you look at it from an investor's point of view and a corporate point of view, what we have in Mexico is the export, one of their high exports, of illegal aliens. And it's a criminal enterprise," Navarro said.

Navarro said Trump's decision to penalize Mexico for America's illegal immigration problem is rooted in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. A national emergency must be ongoing in order for this to be cited.

"Clearly we have that at the border," Navarro said.

"Look at what we are trying to do. This is actually a brilliant move by the president."

Thousands of illegal migrants are crossing into the U.S. on a daily basis, which has burst the immigration system at its seams. Detention centers are overflowing and minors are being held longer than is legally allowed because of overcrowding and a massive backlog.

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