Mexico calls for protections for Mexicans in US following El Paso shooting

The Mexican government on Sunday demanded protections for Mexicans and Mexican Americans living in the U.S. following the deadly shooting in El Paso, Texas.

“We consider this an act of terrorism against the community of Mexico,” Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard said during a press conference, signaling that Mexico’s prosecutor might make that designation official. 

{mosads}Designating the incident as an act of terrorism would “permit Mexico access to all the information related to the case,” and “let us evaluate whether there are other individuals involved or potentially involved” that could put Mexicans at risk, Ebrard said.

He also indicated that Mexico may seek to extradite the alleged gunman on charges of terrorism.

“The attorney general will evaluate requesting, if necessary elements are there, the extradition of the author or the authors of this action.”

The mass shooting left 20 people dead and 26 others wounded. Ebrard identified on Twitter six Mexicans who were killed in the shooting and seven others who were injured.

Patrick Wood Crusius, the suspected gunman, drove eight hours from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to El Paso, which is directly across the border from Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez and has a high concentration of Hispanic people.

Crusius allegedly wrote a racist, anti-immigrant manifesto before the attack, which described fears of a Latino “invasion.”

Ebrard said Mexico would request information from the U.S. about how the weapon used in the attack was acquired by the shooter.

“We consider the issue of arms to be crucial,” he added.

While several American politicians have drawn comparisons between the motives of the El Paso shooter and President Trump’s immigration rhetoric, Ebrard and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador have avoided referencing Trump.

Despite building his career as a staunch progressive, López Obrador has agreed to several of Trump’s demands to crack down on immigrants traveling through Mexico to the southern border.