President Donald Trump said Mexico must stop migrant caravans heading north or face immediately doubled tariffs.
Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday and wrote that "Huge CARAVANS are forming" and beginning an "illegal march through Mexico," claiming some migrants were unwanted by their home countries.
He demanded that Mexico halt the movement immediately.
The President said, "There will be no leniency," and said Mexico's tariff would be "Immediately Doubled." He added that Mexican officials, Texas leadership, Border Patrol and ICE had been informed.
Migrant March Adds to Trump Pressure
Trump's tariff threat came as more than 1,500 migrants, mostly from Central America, began marching from southern Mexico toward Mexico City on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Mexican authorities meanwhile blocked a separate group from heading toward the U.S. Stranded migrants cited limited access to jobs, healthcare and education, while Democrats' electoral gains renewed hopes of a shift in U.S. immigration policies. Notably, Democrat Gina Hinojosa won the Texas governorship, becoming the state's first Latina governor.
The warning follows a politically difficult period for Trump's immigration agenda. In an interview after Republican midterm losses, Trump said his deportation campaign had "both helped and hurt" Republicans politically. He also acknowledged that targeting undocumented immigrants with established jobs and lives in the U.S. may have been "too tough," according to the report.
Earlier this week, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner said the department finalized a rule requiring applicants and tenants in covered federally assisted housing programs to verify their U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status. Turner said the rule closes a decades-old loophole allowing mixed-status households to receive assistance, accusing the Biden administration of failing to enforce existing law.
