At her morning press conference on Tuesday, President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to some of the executive orders signed by Donald Trump on the first day of his second term. She also spoke about Trump’s deportation plan and the decline in migrant arrivals at the Mexico-U.S. border.
Here are some of the president’s key quotes from her Tuesday mañanera.
On Trump’s declaration of an ’emergency’ at the US southern border
“It’s not something new. [The same thing] occurred in 2019. … At that time there was cooperation between the government of the United States of President Trump and the government of Mexico of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. So it is not something new.”
On Trump’s order for the resumption of the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy
“We have our own immigration policy but we’re also a humanitarian government. If there is a person at the border, we act in a humanitarian way, even more so now because it’s so cold. We’re not going to leave people exposed to the elements. So we act in a humanitarian way and in the case of foreigners we seek repatriation to their countries.”
On Trump’s plan to designate cartels as foreign terrorist organizations
“They can act and must act in their territory. … Criminal organizations that sell fentanyl and other drugs also operate inside the United States. So, in their territory, they act. With respect to Mexico, [we stand for] the defense of our sovereignty and always seek dialogue for cooperation without subordination.”
“We all want to combat drug cartels, that is clear. So what do we have to do? We have to coordinate efforts and collaborate — them in their territory and us in our territory.”
On Trump’s order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America
“For us it continues being the Gulf of Mexico and for the whole world it continues being the Gulf of Mexico.”
On Trump’s plan to deport large numbers of immigrants
“Mexicans in the United States support a large part of the United States economy, and the U.S. government knows that. [But] in case of deportations, [the deportees] are welcome here. Besides, Mexico is a growing country, a country in development. … We’ll embrace Mexicans [deported from the U.S.]”
On the decline in migrant numbers at the Mexico-US border
“The pressure from migrants has decreased a lot at the northern border. In fact, no [migrant] caravan has arrived. Since we took office in October no caravan has arrived [at the northern border].”
* Read more about Sheinbaum’s response to the initial actions taken by Trump in this MND article.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
