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'We Demand Respect': Mexican President Responds to Trump's Executive Orders

Cortney O'Brien
Cortney O'Brien  |  January 26, 2017 9:38 AM

UPDATE: At the Republican retreat in Philadelphia on Thursday, Trump said that he and President Nieto "agreed" to cancel their meeting.

UPDATE: President Nieto has cancelled his meeting with President Trump.

***Original Post***

With the swipe of a pen on Wednesday, President Trump green lighted the construction of a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and vastly increased the presence of border agents. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto soon expressed regret over the new U.S. leader's actions and pledged to protect Mexicans already in the States. 

"Where there is a Mexican migrant at risk that requires our support, your country should be there," Peña Nieto said in a brief address to his nation, which he said was a response to Trump's actions earlier in the day.

"Our communities are not alone," Peña Nieto said. "The Mexican Government will provide them with the legal advice, which guarantees the protection they require.

The 50 Mexican consulates in the U.S. will be advocating on behalf of Mexicans, Nieto explained. He added (again) that he does not intend to pay for Trump's border wall. 

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"Mexico offers and demands respect as the fully sovereign nation we are," he insisted. 

Nieto is apparently so distressed by Trump's executive actions that he is considering canceling their scheduled meeting for next week, where they were due to discuss not only immigration, but trade. 

Trump said that if Nieto is not willing to pay for the wall, he can go ahead and cancel.