Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced last week that he will meet with members of the Mexican community in Florida next month to criticize the immigration policies of Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to Mexican media reports.
Ebrard visited Florida last week for an event with farm workers in Tampa, many of whom are seasonal and slated to return to Mexico. During the event, Ebrard criticized Florida and DeSantis for a new “anti-immigrant” law. The June 30 event, to be held in Miami, will be focused on defending “our sisters and brothers throughout the American Union,” Ebrard said in a statement.
El canciller mexicano Marcelo Ebrard visitó a campesinos en Tampa, Florida, para mostrar su apoyo y criticó la ley antiinmigrante de DeSantis. pic.twitter.com/YdCSvUgDIX
— Noticias Telemundo (@TelemundoNews) May 22, 2023
The Mexican foreign ministry’s official statement does not mention DeSantis by name, but singles out Florida as “especially” bad because a “law that is clearly contrary to our community is going to come into force and could lead to many abuses.”
A new immigration law signed by DeSantis will go into effect on July 1, requiring employers with 25 or more workers to confirm their immigration status using E-Verify. (RELATED: Biden Speaks With Mexican President Amid ‘Unprecedented Migration’ At Border)
Ebrard stressed that he does not intend to interfere in American elections, stating that he “cannot intervene in the internal process of the United States, but I am going to speak with North American citizens, they can, it is their country too, and they are citizens.” He has, however, directly criticized DeSantis on previous occasions, saying that his immigration law is based in racism, according to Lopez-Doriga Digital.
On May 25, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador asked Florida Hispanics not to give DeSantis “one single vote” due to his immigration policies, after DeSantis announced he was entering the Republican primary for president.
In another instance of outside commentary on American elections, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently endorsed President Joe Biden for re-election.
The Biden administration has not offered a public comment on these cases of foreign election meddling.