Mexican president criticizes U.S. Republicans for inhumane treatment of migrants

Migrants arrive at the Port Authority bus terminal in New York, the United States, on Sept. 27, 2022. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

MEXICO CITY, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday criticized the "inhumane" treatment of migrants by U.S. Republicans, saying he would propose to U.S. and Canadian leaders at a summit next January to tackle immigration issue at its source.

According to U.S. media reports, busloads of migrants were dropped off outside the residence of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C. on Saturday night amid historically frigid temperatures.

The migrants, including women and children, are reported to be from Central America and the Caribbean region.

Lopez told a press conference that the practice of making immigrants endure the cold was inhumane.

Republicans in the United States exploited the pain of immigrants to serve their own political interests, he said, adding that Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of the U.S. state of Texas, should be responsible for what happened on Saturday night.

A bus carrying migrants departs from a U.S. Border Patrol processing facility in Eagle Pass, Texas, the United States, on Oct. 9, 2022. (Photo by Nick Wagner/Xinhua)

The issue of immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border is a key area of contention between the U.S. Democrats and Republicans. Since the beginning of this year, Abbott and other Republican governors have used buses or planes to send thousands of immigrants to cities governed by Democrats, including Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

In recent years, the U.S. government has been cooperating with Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and other countries to try to solve the immigration problem, but with no effective solutions.

According to U.S. media reports, tens of thousands of immigrants from Central America and other places are still looking for opportunities to enter the United States in the northern border cities of Mexico.

On Jan. 10 next year, leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico will hold a summit here to discuss immigration, climate change, security and other issues.