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Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador takes aim at U.S. politicians
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wields a lot of influence when it comes to curbing migrants illegally crossing the U.S. southern border. And as he made clear in a recent “60 Minutes” interview, he believes that power should be Mexico’s to decide when to use.
Specifically, López Obrador defended his country’s sovereignty in response to hearing House Speaker Mike Johnson say recently that the U.S. could force Mexico to comply with American immigration policy.
“We are not a colony. We are not a protectorate of any foreign country,” López Obrador said through an interpreter to correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi in an interview earlier this month. “And we have a very good relationship with the government of the United States — but not one of subordination.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson has called for President Biden to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy for migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. While speaking to reporters last month, the Louisiana Republican recalled a conversation he had with Biden, in which Johnson urged him to reestablish the Trump-era policy and said it could potentially control the flow of migrants illegally entering the U.S.
“‘Well, Mexico doesn’t want that,'” Johnson recalled the president answering.
“Mr. President,” Johnson said he replied, “we’re the United States. Mexico will do what we say.”
Former President Trump instated the Remain in Mexico policy, or Migrant Protection Protocols, in 2019. The program mandated that U.S. border officials return non-Mexican asylum seekers to Mexico, where they would wait for months — or even years — for their immigration cases to clear U.S. immigration courts. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 ruled 5-4 to rescind the policy.
In contrast to Johnson, López Obrador told “60 Minutes” that Biden has been respectful of Mexico’s sovereignty.
“Every time I speak with President Biden, the first thing he says to me is that our relationship must be on an equal footing,” López Obrador said.
Other American politicians, however, have not understood this relationship, he said. Instead, they have heaped blame on Mexico for the migration challenge at the border, rather than reaching agreements and addressing what he sees as the root of the issue.
López Obrador also issued a critical assessment of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whom he accessed of engaging in opportunism and “cheap politicking” with the border.
Two American politicians the Mexican president offered equal compliments for are the two men whose names are likely to be on the presidential ballot this fall. While López Obrador will not be in office when Americans go to the polls in November — his own six-year term is up in September — his attitude toward both Biden and Trump suggests he wants to keep Mexico on good footing with Washington, no matter who wins the White House.
“President Trump, like President Biden, has been very respectful. Both of them,” López Obrador said. “We have had differences, but we have been able to put first the general interest of both peoples, the people of the United States and the people of Mexico.”
The video above was produced by Brit McCandless Farmer and edited by Scott Rosann.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.