DALLAS — After recently meeting with the president of Mexico, Sen. John Cornyn said that the government can do much more to stop the surge of humans and fentanyl from flowing freely across its border with Texas.
“I told President Lopez Obrador, I said respectfully Mr. President, we’re like an old married couple. We can’t get divorced. We have to make the marriage work,” the Republican said on Inside Texas Politics. “Because we have this common border. We can’t walk away on either side. We have to work through these problems. And certainly there are huge problems confronting us.”
Cornyn led a bipartisan congressional delegation to ask Mexico to do more to stop the flow of the deadly drug, fentanyl, into the U.S. and Texas, as well slowing what he calls a “humanitarian crisis.”
The Republican said respecting sovereignty is a two-way street.
“Clearly they could do more. Arrest more of the drug kingpins. Let us extradite them to the U.S. for trial and prison. That’s along the lines of what we discussed when we were there,” the lawmaker said. “We do want them to stop the precursor, these chemical precursors that are coming from China to Mexico where they’re being manufactured into these fentanyl-laced pills that are killing our children across Texas and across the country.”
Cornyn said no formal agreements were reached.
And he said they also discussed some positive developments, including the fact many American companies are “nearshoring” their manufacturing from countries like China to Mexico.
“There’s already established supply chains and manufacturing between the United States and Mexico. And this is a historic opportunity for them,” the senator said.