Attorney General Xavier Becerra is one of several California lawmakers headed to Mexico City this week for the inauguration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. | Getty Newsom, California lawmakers head to Mexico to forge ties with new president

As President Donald Trump threatens to shut down the Mexican border access and demands $5 billion from Congress to build a wall, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and state lawmakers are heading to Mexico City this week to celebrate the inauguration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The message: The country's most populous state wants to work with Mexico despite the president's rhetoric.


"We're ushering in new leadership and there is a vital strategic interest for the state of California for continued economic growth on both sides of the border, with collaboration and cooperation that benefits both California and Mexico, regardless of Washington's lack of leadership," said state Sen. Kevin de León, the former Senate leader who authored California's "sanctuary state" law. "A lot of folks view foreign policy through the prism of Washington, D.C., however, because California has the fifth-largest economy in the world and because we share a border with our neighbor to the south, we have many shared interests."

De León, who leaves office in January, is part of a delegation of California lawmakers invited by Mexico to attend López Obrador's swearing-in ceremony in Mexico City on Saturday. At least nine state legislators are expected to attend, in addition to Newsom and Becerra.

Trump is not attending the inauguration, but Vice President Mike Pence, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Trump's daughter Ivanka will be among those representing the U.S., the White House announced Wednesday.

The inauguration comes the same week that Trump threatened to shut down the U.S.-Mexico border, called for border wall funding and sought to block a caravan of refugees from Central America seeking asylum. Over the weekend, U.S. law enforcement officers fired tear gas on those seeking refuge.

"This is a humanitarian crisis and it's very personal to me," said Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles) who fled El Salvador with her family seeking asylum when she was a child. "I could have been one of these children currently locked up in cages and separated from their parents and being tear-gassed at the border."

Carrillo, who has pushed lawmakers to fund legal services for immigrants with temporary protected status, said California will continue to "protect our immigrant communities."

"What is missing from this conversation is the reason people immigrate," she said. "It's violence and human rights violations, lack of economic opportunity. Parents want to offer their children a better life."

Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) said while California may not have broad authority on issues like trade and immigration, the state does have jurisdiction to set policy on issues such as water and air quality.

"The New River is one of the most highly polluted rivers in the nation, and it's a similar situation with pollution in San Diego with the Tijuana River ... These are issues that impact water quality and the public health of Californians," Garcia said. "There are far more pressing issues along the border that pertain to people's health and well-being, rather than this loud, divisive rhetoric and billions and billions of dollars to build a wall."

On air quality, he said California and Mexico can work together to address the flow of pollutants from vehicles into the atmosphere.

"There are wait times of four hours to cross from Mexico into the U.S.," he said. "That clearly has a significant impact on the air quality of our border region, when we have people idling and releasing emissions for hours and hours."

Garcia blasted the idea of shutting down the border.

"That has serious economic implications to American companies and the manufacturing and industrial sectors, along with agriculture — sectors extremely important to the U.S. economy," he said. "Our economies are intertwined ... It's absurd this would even come to mind."

Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-Grand Terrace) said she's looking forward to the relationship between Newsom and López Obrador.

"There has been ... and will be a lot of work done in the California Legislature that I think clearly sends a message that California is not posturing in the same way that our president is," she said. "We are looking for solutions [on immigration] that will be beneficial to both countries, remembering that they are our neighbor."