Mexican Dignitaries Visit El Paso Shooting Victims Amid Call for Stronger Protections for Mexicans in America

Mexican dignitaries spent Monday in a hospital visiting with victims of the El Paso, Texas, shooting, just one day after Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard called for stronger protections for Mexicans in America and promised to explore Mexico’s legal options to prosecute the shooter.

“We are living with the consequences of not stopping this narrative of hate,” Gov. Javier Corral Jurado, of Chihuahua state, located just across the border, told reporters at a press conference outside of the Mexican Consulate in El Paso on Monday afternoon.

Eight Mexican nationals were among the 22 killed and six were among the approximately two dozen injured in an attack that happened at a shopping center in the border city.

On Sunday, Ebrard outlined a series of actions the country would take, including the unusual step of exploring extradition for 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, who has been arrested for the terrorist act. The Foreign Ministry also said they would send a note to the U.S. government asking for a clear and forceful position against hate crimes. A State Department spokesperson confirmed that they had seen Ebrard’s statement, but declined to share the letter.

In a Monday news conference following his hospital visit, Ebrard doubled down on his earlier promises, saying he had been meeting with law enforcement and, on Tuesday, would pass that information to Mexico’s attorney general, who will decide whether to press for extradition. He also said Mexico would participate in both the investigation and the trial of Crusius.

Meanwhile, President Trump, who has been accused of making racist remarks, offered a statement of his own.

“In one voice our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” Mr. Trump said. “These sinister ideologies must be defeated.”