Reaffirming the United States commitment to respecting the sovereignty of Mexico and condemning calls for military action in Mexico without Mexico's consent and congressional authorization.

Bill: 118-hres-763
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Castro, Joaquin [D-TX-20]
Introduced: 2023-10-06
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2023-10-25
text: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-10-06
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">This resolution expresses respect for the sovereignty of Mexico and condemns calls for military action in Mexico without Mexico's consent. The resolution also states that while the President has the inherent power to repel sudden attacks, the manufacture and sale of fentanyl does not constitute such a sudden attack or an armed invasion.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;">

tv_txt: IV 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 763 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 6, 2023 Mr. Castro of Texas (for himself, Mr. García of Illinois , Ms. Velázquez , Mr. Casar , Ms. Omar , Mr. Vargas , Ms. Tlaib , Mr. Espaillat , Ms. Kamlager-Dove , Ms. Titus , Ms. Lee of California , Mrs. Ramirez , Mr. McGovern , Mr. Grijalva , Ms. Jacobs , Ms. Leger Fernandez , Mr. Gomez , Mr. Robert Garcia of California , Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick , Mr. Carson , Mr. Lieu , Mrs. Torres of California , Ms. Norton , Ms. Salinas , Ms. Garcia of Texas , Ms. Escobar , Ms. Crockett , Ms. Sánchez , Mr. Cárdenas , Mr. Bowman , Ms. Jackson Lee , Mr. Khanna , Mr. Blumenauer , and Ms. Barragán ) submitted the following resolution October 25, 2023 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Reaffirming the United States commitment to respecting the sovereignty of Mexico and condemning calls for military action in Mexico without Mexico’s consent and congressional authorization.

Whereas Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations, to which the United States is a party, states, All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner … ; Whereas the Charter of the Organization of American States, to which the United States is a party, Article 3(h) of Chapter III states, An act of aggression against one American State is an act of aggression against all the other American States , and Article 3(i) states, Controversies of an international character arising between two or more American States shall be settled by peaceful procedures ; Whereas Article 19 of the Charter of the Organization of American States declares, No State or group of States has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State. The foregoing principle prohibits not only armed force but also any other form of interference or attempted threat against the personality of the State or against its political, economic, and cultural elements ; Whereas Article 22 of the Charter of the Organization of American States declares, The American States bind themselves in their international relations not to have recourse to the use of force, except in the case of self defense in accordance with existing treaties or in fulfillment thereof ; and Whereas the United States and Mexico have cooperated for several decades on a variety of issues such as trade, investment, counter-narcotics, migration, rule of law, and security, including through recent high-level security and economic dialogues: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) respects the sovereignty of Mexico, as protected by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the Organization of American States; (2) rejects the use of military force by the United States against entities based in Mexico, including transnational criminal organizations, if conducted without the consent of the Mexican Government and without an explicit authorization for the use of military force enacted by Congress; (3) condemns calls for military action in Mexico without the consent of the Mexican Government and proper congressional authorization; (4) recognizes that any act of aggression on Mexico’s sovereign territory without their consent could be considered an act of war and a violation of international law; (5) reinforces that any actions by the President to engage in hostilities in Mexico without congressional authorization and for purposes other than repelling a sudden attack would violate the constitutional separation of powers and implicate the War Powers Resolution ( 50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq. ); (6) recognizes that any designation of an entity, including transnational criminal organizations, as a foreign terrorist organization under United States law on its own does not provide the President the authority to conduct military actions against that entity; (7) reaffirms the President’s inherent power to repel sudden attacks on United States persons and territory while noting that the manufacture, transportation, and sale of fentanyl and related chemical compounds is not considered an armed invasion or sudden attack by a foreign adversary and should not serve as the basis for using military force without congressional authorization; and (8) calls on continued United States engagement with Mexico and strong bilateral relations to support productive and effective means of combating rising crime, violence, and drug trafficking.