[181] In a message to Congress, Hayes explained his opinion on the canal: "The policy of this country is a canal under American control ... The United States cannot consent to the surrender of this control to any European power or any combination of European powers."[181]
The Mexican border also drew Hayes's attention. Throughout the 1870s, "lawless bands" often crossed the border on raids into Texas.[182] Three months after taking office, Hayes granted the Army the power to pursue bandits, even if it required crossing into Mexican territory.[182] Mexican president Porfirio Díaz protested the order and sent troops to the border.[182] The situation calmed as Díaz and Hayes agreed to jointly pursue bandits and Hayes agreed not to allow Mexican revolutionaries to raise armies in the United States.[183] The violence along the border decreased, and in 1880 Hayes revoked the order allowing pursuit into Mexico.[184]
Outside the Western Hemisphere, Hayes's biggest foreign-policy concern dealt with China. In 1868 the Senate had ratified the Burlingame Treaty with China, allowing an unrestricted flow of Chinese immigrants into the United States. 