The interests of our Latin American friends (and enemies) are not the same as ours when it comes to immigration. They want to get foreign migrants out of their territories while making money. They also want their own access to the U.S. labor market—for example, Mexicans working in the U.S. sent back $55 billion in 2022, and remittances from the U.S. are 19% of Guatemala’s gross domestic product, 28% of Honduras’, and 26% of El Salvador’s.
Our Latin American neighbors have every incentive to pass the illegal immigration buck to us. Only tough diplomacy, backed up by sanctions, will make them stop. Unfortunately, the U.S. response has been weak and deferential, unworthy of the most powerful nation in the world.
In late 2023, President Joe Biden sent his secretaries of state and homeland security with a begging bowl to Mexico to ask for help stemming illegal…
