The State Department said it would review the 53 Mexican consulates in the United States, the latest sign of growing tensions between the Trump administration and one of its most important foreign allies.
The State Department declined to elaborate on what the review would entail, but said that it could lead to the closure of Mexican consulates.
The review comes after claims have been circulating in conservative media in recent months that Mexican consulates interfere in American politics and encourage mass migration to the United States.
The accusations largely originated from Peter Schweizer, a right-wing author and contributor to Breitbart News who has promoted conspiracy theories about foreign government influence. His claims include that Mexican consular officials have praised protests against U.S. immigration policies, assisted migrants targeted by immigration raids and distributed Spanish-language textbooks to some schools, which discourages Mexican immigrants from assimilating.
The Mexican government has repeatedly disputed his claims, with President Claudia Sheinbaum calling them “absolutely false.”
On Wednesday, the Mexican Embassy in the United States responded to a post online from Mr. Schweizer, saying that Mexican consulates help Mexicans “in a wide array of matters, from ensuring their documentation is up to date to supporting people that have been victims of a crime.” It added, “There is nothing political about consular work, only the commitment to ensuring people’s rights are respected.”
A Mexican government spokesman declined to comment on the review of its consulates in the United States, saying the government had no information about it.
Dylan Johnson, a State Department spokesman, said in a statement that the department was “constantly reviewing all aspects of American foreign relations to ensure they are in line with the president’s America First foreign policy agenda and advance American interests.”
CBS News earlier reported that the State Department was starting a review of the Mexican consulates.
President Trump and Ms. Sheinbaum have often cooperated on immigration enforcement and security issues, but they have also been at odds on a number of fronts. Most recently, Ms. Sheinbaum has been upset with the revelation that two Central Intelligence Agency personnel participated in a Mexican state government operation in northern Mexico last month to dismantle a drug lab. The C.I.A. agents’ presence was revealed when they died in a car crash during the operation.
Ms. Sheinbaum has also refused to arrest a Mexican governor who was publicly accused by U.S. prosecutors last week of aiding a Mexican drug cartel. Ms. Sheinbaum has said that she is not protecting the governor, who belongs to her political party, and maintained that the United States did not offer sufficient evidence to warrant an arrest.
Ed Wong contributed reporting from Washington.
