Outraged Republicans claim Biden is being 'held hostage' by Mexico after President Obrador demanded $20 billion from the U.S. to help deal with the surge in migrants

Furious Republicans claim the Biden administration is being 'held hostage' and exploited by Mexico after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador demanded billions of dollars in return for helping stem the surge of migrants into the U.S. 

In a 60 Minutes interview over the weekend, the Mexican president said he would work with its northern neighbor to stem immigration if Mexico U.S. meets his demands.

He wanted the U.S. to commit $20 billion annually to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, sanctions to be lifted from Venezuela, the embargo lifted from Cuba and for law-abiding Mexicans living in the U.S. illegally to be given citizenship.

López Obrador said that 'the flow of migrants will continue' if the U.S. does not meet his requests. 

In response, Republicans decried López Obrador's demands as a bribe and slammed Biden for letting him call the shots on U.S. foreign policy. 

'The President of Mexico says they will keep invading our country until we pay the bribe,' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X Monday.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would help the U.S. stem the flow of migrants if U.S. officials provide billions in funding to Latin American counties and lift restrictions on Cuba and Venezuela

Migrants often travel through Mexico in their journey to the U.S., making the country a critical ally for the U.S. in its efforts to stem illegal immigration

A group of migrants of different nationalities pray as they prepare to leave in a caravan that aims to reach the border between Mexico and the United States on March 25

President Joe Biden met with President López Obrador in Mexico City earlier this year

'This is a war,' she added. 'He is basically saying either we meet his demands or the invasion continues.'

'Now the President of Mexico is demanding a bribe in order to 'stem the invasion' NOT even stop it,' she said in another post.

Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, similarly posted on X: 'When Trump was President, Mexico helped us fight the Mexican cartels and stop mass illegal immigration.'

'But now, our country is held hostage and Mexico demands bribe money because Biden is all too happy to sell out American border security.'

'I've met with Obrador, he's a fool and a bully - we need a real leader in the White House to confront him.'

Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., also weighed in.

'Mexican President Obrador put 25,000 of his own soldiers on Mexico's southern border to stop migration and supported Trump's Remain in Mexico policy.'

'Now he's dictating border policy to Biden!'

But López Obrador's demands are not new. 

The Mexican president outlined a similar request in January ahead of meeting with Biden. 

'Mexico is helping reach agreements with other countries, in this case Venezuela,' he said at the time. 

'We have already proposed to President Biden that a U.S.-Cuba bilateral dialogue be opened.'

The Mexican president also said he wanted the U.S. to provide visas to at least 10 million Hispanic migrants who have been living in the U.S. for 10 years or longer. 

He also floated the a plan to deploy $20 billion to help Mexico and Central American countries dealing with the root causes of migration.

Thousands of migrants from across Central and South America form a caravan headed to the U.S. on March 25 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., called the Mexican president's demands a 'bribe'

After leftist López Obrador was elected in 2018, his administration and then-President Donald Trump worked together to create immigration reforms such as the Migrant Protection Protocols, known as the 'Remain in Mexico' policy. 

The policy required immigrants awaiting a U.S. immigration court hearing to remain in the outside of the country until their hearing. 

It was widely credited for cutting immigration into the U.S. from Mexico and other Latin American counties. 

On Biden's first day in office, he signed an executive order ending the program.

'President Trump was able to negotiate the 'Remain in Mexico' agreement with Mexico's president,' Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, posted on X Monday.

Now, President Biden has opened the floodgates at our border and has rolled over to every world leader who is hostile to America,' he continued.