With the inauguration of the 47th president of the United States less than seven weeks away, Mexico is preparing – or, some might say, bracing – for the return of Donald Trump.
Ahead of his return to the White House, Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all Mexican exports to the United States and pledged to carry out “the largest deportation operation in American history.”
The latter promise – and especially the possibility of it becoming reality – was a key focus of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference on Thursday.
Among other remarks at her Thursday mañanera, Sheinbaum recalled the period of her life when she lived as an immigrant in the United States.
Feds and border states to plan for possible US mass deportations
Sheinbaum noted that all state governors will attend a security meeting with federal officials in Acapulco next week.
She indicated that on the sidelines of that meeting, the governors of Mexico’s six northern border states – Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas – will gather with federal officials to discuss Donald Trump’s stated plan to carry out a mass deportation operation.
Sheinbaum said that the federal government will come to an agreement with the northern border states over “how to receive our compatriots in case of a mass deportation” of Mexican immigrants currently living in the United States.
“We hope that it doesn’t happen, but if it does happen we’ll be prepared to welcome them,” she said.
Mexico’s former foreign affairs minister and current Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena said in February that there were 5.3 million undocumented Mexicans living in the United States.
Trump confirmed last month that he plans to use the U.S. military to carry out his proposed mass deportation plan.
Mexico hopes for agreement with Trump to avoid receiving non-Mexicans
Sheinbaum told reporters that Mexico currently has an agreement with the Biden administration under which the United States sends deportees “of many nationalities” on direct flights to their countries of origin.
She said that Mexico has a “caring” attitude toward “everyone,” but stressed that its “main” job is to receive Mexicans who are deported from the United States.
Sheinbaum said that her government hopes to reach an agreement with the Trump administration so that most non-Mexican deportees continue to be sent to their countries of origin.
Reuters reported Thursday that “Mexico has played a key role in implementing U.S. immigration policy in recent years, accepting migrants from countries to which the U.S. struggles to deport people, such as Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.”
The news agency also noted that the man tapped to be Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said in late October that “sending migrants to other countries, including Mexico, would be an option.”
‘I never stopped participating in the transformation of my country’
Near the end of her press conference, the president noted that she lived in northern California for four years in the early 1990s while completing a doctorate at UC Berkeley.
“I had the opportunity to live four years outside of Mexico. … I always dedicated myself to academia, but I never stopped participating in the transformation of my country,” said Sheinbaum, who says her government is now building the “second story” of the so-called “fourth transformation” initiated by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
She told reporters that she participated in protests in the United States that were aimed at pressuring the Mexican government to give Mexicans abroad the right to vote in Mexican elections.
Sheinbaum also noted that she attended protests ahead of the entry into force of NAFTA in 1994.
“We thought that the agreement had to be fair and include good salaries for Mexicans,” she said of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The president displayed on a screen the front page of the Oct. 1, 1991 edition of The Stanford Daily newspaper, which included a photograph of her protesting against then Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari at Stanford University.
Sheinbaum, 29 at the time, was holding up a sign that read: “Fair trade and democracy now!!”
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
I hope Mexico will only agree to take their own people back otherwise Trump and his cronies will send plane leads of people from every country. Just like they sent bus loads of migrants from Texas and Florida to New York City, New Jersey, Delaware, etc. Presidenta Sheinbaum should continue to take a strong stand against Trump.
Looks like they let you in. Were they supposed to stop right after that?
The northern neighbor developed a mass deportation of around 82,000 Mexicans from 1929 to 1935 for the same kind of stuff we see today. Economic hardship, A rise in anti-immigrant sentiment and nativism fueled discrimination. Scapgoating was used, like we see today, and many deportees were even US citizens of Mexican decent. So this racist injustice has a long history. It is good to see our government planning for this despicable possibility. Oh, the shame of this. Disgusting and so wrong.
95 % of illegal immigrants came to the US crossing (walking , swimming) the rio Grande. Why do we US taxpayers have to pay airplane tickets for them to go back to Colombia , Venezuela or Cuba. I hope you understand the reason why they are going back to Mexico , that’s where they came from . They took the risk to come here illegally, now its time for them to face the consequences !!
Then why doesn’t the US save a bunch of money and just give them a legal path to residency??? The US could keep the workers and the residency payment which would include a fine/penalty (would be an income stream).
Sounds like a reasonable solution to me
Immigration to “el norte” is not a new phenomenon.
Even before the United States became a country, there was corruption in the governing bodies on both sides of the national borders deigned by a triumphant United States that deemed the southern nations were still undeveloped thereby not deserving of recognition by the United States as equal nations.
While denying free travel to people south of the border, United States’ citizens and corporations felt free to wander throughout the hemisphere looking to develop their business interests, not just often but always to the benefit of Americans, which politically and racially meant that unless one was born in the United States, one wasn’t an American, but just a Mexican, a Guatemalan, a Venezuelan, a Colombian, or even a Puerto Rican (despite the fact that it was from the “Enchanted Island” that European adventurers set off to explore, conquer and colonize the New World). “Those people” were only good for exploitation of its people and natural resources.
The prime mover behind today’s mass migrations is the poverty that American corporate business investments and exploitation of people and resources of the nations south of the US border has caused and continues abetting. One of the clearest and most strident voices of this sense of superiority that the United States has and continues promoting is that of the convicted felon and sex abuser whom over 50% of their electorate and Senate Electoral College just chose to lead and represent them. That his opponent was not only much better qualified and experienced in governing and legislating than he was trumped by the glaring faults of being a woman, non-white and married to a Jew.
President Sheinbaum understands that the immigration problem is not the people, but the political, social and health threats that people are facing because of the profiteering and pandering of leadership backed and recognized not by a northern neighbor, but rather by a government that has directed and now wants to dictate to the people who live in what their president thinks should be annexed as a state.
BTW, the people of the United States have been feeling the “consequences” not of their southern neighbors’ attempts to survive, but of the “proud Americans” touting of “the land of the free and home of the brave” (for white male “Christians”.)
I believe Trump will follow through on his threat of mass deportations. I also believe most Americans don’t realize the enormous expense that will be involved. Buying the land, planjing and building the detention/processing centers, staffing including benefits, security, outfitting and equipment, utilities, meals and basic care including healthcare for the detained, etc., etc. This is before the economic fallout and damage to industries like agriculture, tourism, office maintenance/cleaning, construction, landscaping, and manufacturing, etc. Those in the US illegally aren’t sitting watching tv, most of them are working incredibly difficult manual labor that pays less than what most Americans are willing to accept for the work. As large scale farmers, we depend on H-2A workers and seasonal labor because 1) no American will show up for more than 2 days, 2) no American knows the value of hard work, and 3) Americans look down upon farm work & physical labor. Food costs will surely increase.
While I 100% believe that people need to be in America legally. My family emigrated from Norway 3 generations ago – legally. We also support and treat immigrants with respect, dignity, and good pay. We depend on the H-2A program and services that provide our labor, but I cannot say with 100% certainty that everyone working for us is in the US legally. That’s why we utilize 3rd party employment groups and government agencies. I think the American people were sold a false narrative and have no real idea of the economic impact of what Trump’s promises/policies will do to the economy. All these people are buying groceries, beer, gas, etc. while paying sales tax and in many cases employment taxes (of which they get little benifit). Villianizing Mexicans will have a negligible effect on real crime, while severely damaging the economy, especially in rural, red state communities that are already struggling.
Separately, add the labor/materials cost for each mile of border fence and the cost to aquire the land. The national border’s length is 1,954 miles of which 1,255 miles is the Rio Grande and 699 miles is on land. Texas alone needs 800+ miles “protected”. At the current rate of 1/2 mile per week, we’ll all be dead, or close to it, before it were completed and the costs will only rise with time.
Now add the cost to consumers of his tariffs…
But what do you expect from a man who filed 6 bankruptcies and lost most of his businesses because he couldn’t manage or lead responsibly. This is just 1 part of his plans for his 2nd term. Thankfully I will be on the “right” side of his fence but I worry for my kids and family in the States.
I’m glad Mexico is planning for all the possibilities. Unfortunately, the US is not prepared for the fallout if Trump follows through with his promises.
Well said. The impact of this scapegoating on the coountry will be profound. Stupid is as stupid does. Transactional thinking is an attractive strategy for a leader in the short term as it looks like a quick fix. Finding a real solution takes time. The solution to this problem last year was rejected by Trump because he wanted it as a campaign issue…he got it…he won. Now he will reap the whirlwind of his near sighted racist actions.
No, it is all the residents of the US who will reap the whirlwind of the bigotry, racism and stupidity of those who voted for Trump.
Well said.
When someone breaks into your home, do you offer to let them stay there, or do you throw them out?
Oh that’s a stupid comment and has no relation to the problem but on the other hand if he breaks in and offers to help you fix your house what would you say?
Nada que ver, amigo
There are 5.3 million “undocumented Mexican’s living in the U.S. who don’t pay “income taxes”, but who manage because they get “free” assistance, (food stamps, free hospitalization) to send $6.3 billion in remittances back to Mexico every year. If Trump deports the 5.3 million back to Mexico, that’s $ 6.3 BILLION dollars that don’t leave the US Treasury. (straight forward math) Also to help with the deportation process and to discourage 5.3 million “illegals” living in the US Trump is is going to impose a 50% “excise” tax on all “cash” money being “electronic wired transferred back to Mexico. This is going to impact the Mexican economy.
Sheinbaum start planning for these changes coming your way and the flow of 5.3 million coming your way. Save all your stupid comments for other days.
I live in Mexico and have talked with many, many people who have worked iligally in the USA. Most worked many years ago with false ID in order to work. They have used false Social Security cards and never were able, of course, to collect it. I have not found the amount of money collected into Social Security that they will not receive, but will be placed in the fund for citizens to collect upon retirement. Also, I have met some who were legal residents who were deported by ICE for past drunk driving convictions. Now imagine this; They lost their home that they paid for, left wife and kids behind, lost their bank accounts and all funds, their cars and more. All when asked have started by saying that they deserved it for their crime. But, what a human tragedy. I am not defending them, but simply adding some human perspective to this issue. As a teenager I worked picking fruit in California with Mexican guests on the Bracero Program which gave them legal permission to work. A new program was negotiated last year to address this but now President Trump scuttled it because he wanted it to be an election year issue. To me, that is the height of cruelty and victimization. No shame, but lots of power as one who is above the law.
Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for and do not receive food stamps (SNAP). Taxing or discouraging remittances would be a cruel, and pointless thing to do. The huge, vast, amount of remittances are from legal residents working legally and legally entitled to do whatever they want with their wages. Yeah, lets blame them for…well, for something. Doesn’t matter what.
Optima: we’re going to have a lot of jobs available for you and your fellow MAGA brothers!