O'Reilly Claims Peña Nieto Encourages Illegal Immigration To U.S.

O'Reilly: Peña Nieto Is “Actually Encouraging Illegal Aliens To Come Here.” On the October 7 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly accused Peña Nieto of encouraging the Mexican people to migrate to the United States in order to work and send money back to their home country. O'Reilly showed an incomplete clip of remarks that Peña Nieto made recently on CNN:

O'REILLY: And speaking to CNN, the president of Mexico says this.

PEÑA NIETO (voice of translator in video clip): And I think it's unfortunate for a country whose formation and historic origin relies so much on the migration flows of many parts -- Europe, Asia, for instance. I think this is a country whose origin to a great extent is one of migration, and that's why it's unfortunate to hear this exclusionary and discriminatory tone regarding the migration flows into the United States.

O'REILLY: What a bunch of bull. With us now, attorneys and Fox News analysts Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl. So, Wiehl. We'll talk about the Mexican president in a moment. Because he's actually encouraging illegal aliens to come here, so they come here and send money back to Mexico, because President Nieto, for some reason, even though they have oil and two beautiful coastlines, cannot support its own population, so millions of them have to come here. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 10/7/14 (emphasis added)]

Full Context Shows Peña Nieto Said Migration Has Decreased Because Mexico Is Creating New Opportunities At Home

Peña Nieto: “We Are Opening Greater Opportunities For Those Who Don't Want To Leave Their Country.” On the October 5 edition of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, Peña Nieto celebrated the fact that the creation of broader economic opportunities in Mexico is being reflected in a net standstill in migration flows to the U.S.:

FAREED ZAKARIA (host): But when you hear some of the anti-immigrant language, the rhetoric, do you think it's racist?

PEÑA NIETO (voice of translator): I think it's discriminatory, yes, and I think it's unfortunate for a country whose formation and historic origin relies so much on the migration flows of many parts -- Europe, Asia, for instance. I think this is a country whose origin to a great extent is one of migration, and that's why it's unfortunate to hear this exclusionary and discriminatory tone regarding the migration flows into the United States. Today, we have to recognize that the migration that comes from Mexico to the United States has fallen. There is a lower number of migrants that balance between those who are coming to the United States and those going back to Mexico. It's practically a zero balance today. Andthat reflects the fact that in Mexico, we are opening greater opportunities for those who don't want to leave their country or those who have no need to go looking for a new opportunity of personal or professional growth. [CNN, Fareed Zakaria GPS, 10/5/14 (emphasis added)]

Pew Hispanic Center: “The Net Migration Flow From Mexico To The United States Has Stopped.” An April 2012 Pew Hispanic Center report explained that Mexican migration into the U.S. “has come to a standstill,” due in part to “broader economic conditions in Mexico”:

The largest wave of immigration in history from a single country to the United States has come to a standstill. After four decades that brought 12 million current immigrants--most of whom came illegally--the net migration flow from Mexico to the United States has stopped and may have reversed, according to a new analysis of government data from both countries by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

The standstill appears to be the result of many factors, including the weakened U.S. job and housing construction markets, heightened border enforcement, a rise in deportations, the growing dangers associated with illegal border crossings, the long-term decline in Mexico's birth rates and broader economic conditions in Mexico.

The following graph illustrated Pew's report:

[Pew Hispanic Center, 4/23/12]