Mexico’s Shadow Campaign Inside America Isn’t Diplomacy Anymore

When Foreign Policy Becomes Invasion by Other Means

Here’s something that should make every American sit up straight. Mexico operates 53 consulates across the United States. Fifty-three. That’s more than most of our closest allies maintain on our soil, and according to investigative journalist Peter Schweizer, they’re not just stamping visas and helping tourists find their passports.

Schweizer’s new book, “The Invisible Coup,” drops Tuesday with allegations that should concern anyone who values American sovereignty. His central claim? The Mexican government is running a coordinated influence operation inside our borders, using diplomatic cover to organize political activity that crosses every line of acceptable foreign conduct.

“Foreign powers are using migration as a weapon to undermine American sovereignty,” Schweizer told reporters. “Mexico is a clear example of this.”

You know what’s striking about this? It’s been happening in plain sight.

The Consulate Network That Does More Than Consular Work

Schweizer, who co-founded the Government Accountability Institute with Steve Bannon, isn’t making vague accusations. He’s pointing to specific patterns of behavior that violate the basic rules of diplomatic engagement. According to his research, Mexican consular officials have actively supported and encouraged anti-ICE protests on American soil. Some have even taken credit for organizing community mobilization efforts.

Let’s be clear about what that means. These aren’t private citizens exercising their First Amendment rights. These are foreign government officials using their diplomatic status to interfere in American law enforcement and domestic policy debates. That’s not diplomacy. That’s subversion wearing a suit and tie.

The term Schweizer uses is “weaponized immigration,” and it’s perfect. Because what we’re seeing isn’t just failed border security or overwhelmed processing systems. It’s a deliberate strategy by a foreign government to leverage migration flows for political influence inside the United States.

Think about the audacity required here. A foreign nation maintaining an unprecedented diplomatic footprint, then using that infrastructure to organize resistance against American immigration enforcement. It’s the kind of thing that would trigger immediate expulsions and diplomatic crises if roles were reversed.

Beyond Traditional Diplomacy

The Mexican government’s influence efforts extend beyond consulates, according to Schweizer’s findings. Education programs and migrant outreach initiatives create networks that can be activated for political purposes. The infrastructure is already built, funded by a foreign government, operating across multiple states.

This matters because immigration isn’t just a policy debate anymore. It’s become a pressure point that foreign powers can exploit. When millions of people cross your border and a foreign government maintains active relationships with those communities through official channels, you’ve created a vulnerability that didn’t exist before.

Some will dismiss these concerns as xenophobia or conspiracy theory. They’re wrong. This is about sovereignty and the basic rules that govern how nations interact. Every country has the right to control who enters its territory and under what conditions. Every country has the obligation to prevent foreign interference in its domestic affairs.

The fact that we’re even debating this shows how far the conversation has shifted.

What Sovereignty Actually Means

Here’s the thing about national sovereignty that the open-borders crowd doesn’t want to acknowledge. It’s not abstract or theoretical. It’s the foundation of self-government. Without control over your territory and borders, you don’t have a country. You have a geographic expression subject to outside influence and manipulation.

Mexico understands this perfectly well. Try organizing political protests as a foreign national in Mexico City and see how long your diplomatic status protects you. The Mexican government enforces its own immigration laws with vigor when it suits their interests. They just prefer that America doesn’t do the same.

The 53 consulates represent something more than diplomatic presence. They’re forward operating bases for political influence, embedded in American communities, funded by a foreign treasury, accountable to foreign interests. And according to Schweizer’s research, they’ve been used to undermine American law enforcement and sovereignty.

This isn’t about being anti-Mexico or anti-immigrant. This is about expecting foreign governments to follow the same rules everyone else does. Diplomatic missions exist to facilitate communication between governments, not to organize political resistance inside the host country.

The question Americans need to ask is simple. Why are we tolerating behavior from Mexico that we wouldn’t accept from any other nation? And what are we going to do about it?

Schweizer’s book arrives at a moment when these questions matter more than ever. The border crisis continues. Foreign influence operations are increasingly sophisticated. And the basic concept of national sovereignty faces challenges that would have seemed impossible a generation ago.

Sometimes the most dangerous threats are the ones hiding in plain sight, dressed in diplomatic credentials, operating out of consulates in every major American city. Schweizer is shining a light on one of them. Whether anyone in power has the courage to respond remains to be seen.

American Conservatives