Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday encouraged Hispanics in Florida not to vote for Gov. Ron DeSantis to be the 2024 Republican presidential nominee because of his tough stand on illegal immigration.

“I hope the Hispanics of Florida wake up and don’t give him a vote, that they don’t vote for those who persecute migrants, those who don’t respect migrants, because the migrant, as it is said in the Bible, deserves respect,” López Obrador said, according to a transcript of his daily press briefing. “You have to respect — says the Bible — the foreigner, not mistreat him.”

Earlier this month, DeSantis, a staunch critic of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, signed a Florida bill that makes E-Verify mandatory for any business with 25 or more employees, imposes penalties for those employing illegal immigrants, and enhances penalties for human smuggling.

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