Law enforcement from different agencies work the scene of a shooting at a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019. Multiple people were killed and one person was in custody after a shooter went on a rampage at a shopping mall, police in the Texas border town of El Paso said. (AP Photo/Rudy Gutierrez)

The Mexican government is promising to take legal action against the United States for “failing to protect” its citizens after some Mexican nationals were among the victims of Saturday’s mass shooting in El Paso, TX.

JUST IN: Mexico threatens to take legal action against the US for failing to protect its citizens in the wake of Saturday's mass shooting in El Paso. https://t.co/SRuGgHYB91

— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 4, 2019

Ebrard called Saturday’s shooting an “act of barbarism.”

“The president has instructed me to ensure that Mexico’s indignation translates into … efficient, prompt, expeditious and forceful legal actions for Mexico to take a role and demand that conditions are established that protect … Mexicans in the United States,” Ebrard said in a video posted on Twitter.

This seems like a fairly foolish precedent to set.

Countless American citizens have been kidnapped and killed inside of Mexico over the past decades. There’s also the violence perpetrated inside of the United States by Mexican nationals, usually in connection with Mexican drug cartels and/or gangs. You could even broaden this out to include drug overdoses, of which most of the drugs crossing our border illegally come from or through Mexico.

One Angel Mom responded to the foreign minister’s statement.

I would also like to take legal action against Mexico for failing to control one of its’ citizens. They allowed their citizen to illegally enter the US more than four times (after being deported), illegally possess a gun, and then go on a shooting spree, killing my only child.

— Julie Golvach🇺🇸 (@JulieGolvach) August 4, 2019

I’m not sure what the purpose of Mexico’s posturing here is given the actual realities. They have no ability to force changes in U.S. law to protect their citizens nor do they have any legal ground to claim their citizens are in some kind of unique danger within the United States. Statistically, they are far safer on our side of the border. Perhaps the Mexican government thinks this will help them in some future, unrelated negotiation if used as leverage?

Regardless of their motive, there’s something gross about the double standard given the violent conditions in their own country. The fact that our media are reporting this uncritically is also disappointing, yet typical.

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