Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson said Friday he understands President Donald Trump's frustration with Mexico over the situation at the border and hopes his call for escalating tariffs will "bring them to their senses."
"I spoke with the (Mexican) foreign minister and Mexican ambassador and asked them to enact a safe third-country agreement so we can return migrants to the country," the Wisconsin Republican told Fox News' "America's Newsroom," explaining that under that rule, asylum must be claimed in the first safe country migrants from Central America reach, meaning Mexico. "They rejected that."
Meanwhile, the United States must try to limit the impact of tariffs on Mexico as much as it can.
"The Mexican president did not help himself by basically saying we should do away with borders," said Johnson. "We can't have open borders. That's really what he is saying. I was surprised. I thought he would try to find some common ground with the president."
Tariffs, he continued, are actually taxes on consumers, so he's always concerned when they're enacted.
Trump at this point is trying to use the threat as leverage, as the border situation is out of control, Johnson added.
"Just in the first eight months of this fiscal year, 400,000 individuals have crossed the border illegally," said Johnson. "This is completely out of control. In a recent poll in Guatemala, a third of Guatemalans said they intended to migrate to America. Six million people ... we need Mexico to cooperate with us and currently they haven't done enough."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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