USA TODAY International Edition
Trump heads to Mexico before immigration speech
Republican candidate to meet with Mexico president Nieto
Donald Trump seeks to lay out evolving views on immigration Wednesday — particularly questions about the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants — but only after a last- minute, high- profile side trip to Mexico, a country he has ridiculed for months.
Departing from California, Trump plans to fly south of the border for a meeting with President Enrique Peña Nieto before heading back north to Phoenix for what aides are billing as a major speech on immigration.
“I have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him,” the Republican nominee tweeted late Tuesday.
The speech comes after days of seemingly conflicting statements from Trump, including suggestions that he might soften his call for mass deportations of millions of people who are in the U. S. illegally.
While Trump has expressed support for formation of a “deportation force,” he has recently suggested a “softening” of that position and told a group of Hispanic advisers earlier this month that he wants to deal with the problem “humanely.”
Donald Trump Jr., the candidate’s son, has said that full deportation remains the policy, but “you have to start with baby steps” with an initial focus on people with criminal records.
“You have to eliminate the sanctuary cities,” the younger Trump told CNN this week. “You have to get rid of the criminals, certainly first and foremost, you have to secure the border.”
Less than two- and- a- half months before the election, Trump faces overwhelming opposition from Hispanic voters — the fastest growing segment of the U. S. electorate, and potentially a decisive force in swing states like Arizona and Florida.
While seeking to reach out to Hispanics and other voters turned off by his hard- line immigration stance, Trump also wants to hold the support of conservatives who like the immigration policies he touted throughout his GOP primary campaign and believe the U. S. has permitted an “open borders” policy.
While preparing for his big speech, the New York businessman has maintained his pledge to build a wall along the U. S.- Mexico border and to have Mexico “pay for it.”
That proposal has been heavily criticized by the Mexican government — including Peña Nieto, who has said his country will never finance Trump’s wall.
Trump’s visit to Mexico — and his first meeting with a foreign leader as presidential nominee — comes after months of attacks on the nation’s southern neighbor and claims that it is “sending” criminals across the border.
In his very first speech as a presidential candidate, his announcement of June 16, 2015, Trump said that “when Mexico sends its people” to the United States, “they’re not sending their best.”
He added: “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Trump has also accused Mexico of taking advantage of trade agreements to steal U. S. jobs.
Peña Nieto has returned the favor, comparing Trump’s “strident rhetoric” to past dictators in other countries: “That’s how Mussolini got in, that’s how Hitler got in.”
The Mexican president has announced that he has invited both Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to meetings to discuss the Mexico- U. S. relationship.
The Clinton campaign sought to amplify Trump’s criticism of Mexico by sending out what it called “a big beautiful list of literally every tweet Donald Trump has sent about Mexico over the last two years.”
Clinton spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said Trump “has painted Mexicans as rapists and criminals,” and his past deportation plans would include children and the break- up of families that include U. S. citizens.
“What ultimately matters is what Donald Trump says to voters in Arizona, not Mexico,” Palmieri said, “and whether he remains committed to the splitting up of families and deportation of millions.”