Mexico’s president said Thursday that she will ask President-elect Donald Trump to deport non-Mexican migrants directly to their home countries rather than dumping them at the Mexican border.
President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed her desire to reach an agreement with Trump so that “they send people who come from other countries to their countries of origin.”
Like any other country, Mexico is not required to accept non-Mexican migrants, but it has recently agreed to do so, especially from Cuba and Venezuela, which frequently reject deportation flights from the United States but may accept them from Mexico.
Mexican officials have stated that they are already prepared if Trump follows through on his promise to deport large numbers of migrants without proper documentation when he takes office on January 20.
Mexico is clearly concerned about two issues: the widespread deportation of Mexican citizens and the deportation of large numbers of non-Mexicans at border crossings that lack the necessary infrastructure.
Experts estimate that there are approximately 4 million Mexicans living in the United States without proper documentation. Mexico is already preparing its consular services in the United States with additional personnel to handle deportation cases involving its citizens.
However, third-country deported migrants pose a more difficult challenge and may include a large number of Haitians, Cubans, and Venezuelans.
Mexico agreed to accept up to 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, countries that the United States finds difficult to deport due to diplomatic or political considerations. That agreement is still in place.
In late 2023, Venezuela reported that Mexico had repatriated approximately 300 Venezuelan migrants on two flights.
Such returns place a monetary burden on the Mexican government. Mexico had offered some of the repatriated Venezuelans a six-month stipend of approximately $110 to assist them in re-establishing themselves in their home countries.
However, finding jobs, shelter, and transportation for deported Mexicans would be an even greater challenge for Mexico.
Migration has long been a sensitive issue between the two countries, and it has become even more pressing since Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican goods unless the country does more to stem the flow of migrants and drugs.
In November, Trump claimed that Sheinbaum “agreed to stop migration through Mexico” after a phone call between the two leaders. Sheinbaum, meanwhile, claimed that Mexico was already doing its part and had no intention of closing its borders.
“We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples,” Sheinbaum told journalists at the time.