CAIRO — California Governor Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed a law banning the import of all illegal Mexican fish and seafood, saying it was an attack on the state’s sovereignty.
Brown said the state is now one of the few in the world to ban the importation of illegal Mexican products.
The new law is the first of its kind in the United States, and was enacted just days after the president signed an executive order banning the export of Mexican products, including cod, tilapia, tilafo, shrimp, crab, salmon and shrimp eggs.
The president’s order also banned imports of the products from Mexico.
Brown’s announcement capped months of controversy over Mexican-American ties, which have deteriorated in recent years as tensions over the country’s war on drugs have spilled into violence.
Brown’s administration has called on states to enforce tougher enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws and he has vowed to enforce those restrictions.
Last month, the governor ordered the closure of nearly 300 ports in California, including the ports of Long Beach and San Francisco.
The closures were intended to prevent illegal imports and to stop the spread of the disease, but critics say the moves have caused a wave of illegal migration and contributed to an increase in the number of deaths at sea.
The state also imposed strict new rules for imported fish and other food items, including banning the sale of frozen meat, fish and chips, as well as fresh produce.
California is one of at least a dozen states in the country that ban imports of Mexican food products.
That includes the Mexican food staple hamburgers, pizza, cheese, cheeseburgers and sausages.
The restrictions also cover the popular steak sandwich and Mexican chips.
A California Supreme Court judge ruled earlier this year that the ban on Mexican food was unconstitutional, but Brown’s order was put on hold by a federal appeals court ruling that it was constitutional.
Brown said in a statement Tuesday that the court’s decision should have prevented any future challenges.
The move was widely expected as the country has been struggling to curb the spread and spread of tuberculosis, or TB, which has surged as a new wave of immigrants and people fleeing the deadly war on narcotics has flooded the country.
It is also being blamed for a wave in tuberculosis cases that has claimed more than 4,000 lives in the U.S. in the past decade.