Tom Ridge, the former Homeland Security Secretary, said on Friday that he’s “not quite sure” President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on Mexico will help improve the situation on the Southwest border.
"I'm not quite sure tariffs on Mexico are going to solve the problem for us," Ridge, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, said in an interview with Hill.TV.
"I have a great deal of support for the notion about securing the borders, but I think we politicize the issue instead of solving the problem," he added.
The Hill reported on Thursday that the Trump administration plans to declare a national emergency to place tariffs on Mexico because of “the failure of the Government of Mexico to take effective action to reduce the mass migration of aliens illegally crossing into the United States through Mexico,” according to a draft document.
"I don't think that we advance ourselves toward a solution by politicizing the border by simply talking about a wall, and not taking into consideration all the other dimensions of an immigration policy based on a 21st-century world, based on the technology we have, based on relationships we have with the leaders in the region," Ridge said. "Those leaders have a responsibility to help us as well, and right now we've ignored them."
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