Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday pushed back at criticism that President Donald Trump’s crackdown on a massive caravan of immigrants heading to the United States is “hard-hearted,” saying it’ll be done “with great energy and vigor and professionalism.”
In a news briefing, Pompeo said the caravan is violating Mexico's sovereignty laws and immigration procedures.”
“President Trump will not stand for this to happen to the United States,” he said, adding: “We have an obligation, the president has an obligation to protect American sovereignty and to secure our borders to make sure that we know who is coming in and out of our country.”
“To those who say this is a hard-hearted stance, let's not forget that the United States is historically generous nation when it comes to immigration … over 33 million people total are currently here who have immigrated to this country legally,” he declared.
“To those who want to come here, come here legally, legal immigration is the surest way to obtain the better life you are looking for here in the United States of America.”
“We will continue to make sure that we execute that with great energy and vigor and professionalism.”
Pompeo didn’t reiterate Trump’s pronouncement that “Middle Easterns” are a part of the crush of illegal entrants.
“From a security standpoint, there is no proper accounting of who these individuals in the caravan are,” he said. “And this poses an unacceptable security risk to the United States. Moreover, many of these people are …targets” for “many who would exploit them.”
“We don't want that to happen,” he continued. “I have spoken twice in the last two days to my counterpart [in Mexico]. We trust Mexico's leaders know best steps and we urge timely action on their part.”
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