Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has signaled her readiness to accept millions of undocumented migrants set to be deported under the incoming U.S. administration.
During her daily press briefing, Sheinbaum stated that if the United States opts not to repatriate these individuals to their home countries, Mexico is prepared to provide them with refuge.
“We can collaborate through different mechanisms,” she said, although did not mention any specific details about how the plan would be implemented.
“There will be time to speak with the United States government if these deportations really happen, but we will receive them here, we are going to receive them properly and we have a plan,” she continued.
JUST IN: 🇲🇽🇺🇸 Mexican President Sheinbaum says she will allow President Trump to use Mexico as a deportation hub, even for non-Mexican migrants.
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) January 4, 2025
Meanwhile, as President-elect Donald Trump’s team gets ready for Day One of mass deportations, Tom Homan, the incoming border czar, is warning that many illegal immigrants who have never been picked up before will be caught up in the arrests.
During a phone interview with the Washington Examiner, Homan provided some insight into how the Trump administration will arrest, detain, and deport hundreds of thousands or even millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States.
Homan said that immigrants whose only crime was coming into the country illegally should be sent back to their home country, even if they are just living with or related to someone who has an arrest warrant out for them.
“In sanctuary cities, expect a lot of collateral arrests. I mean, not priority criminal arrests. We can’t get the bad guy in jail. That means we have to go into the communities and find them, and there may be others. We expect a lot of collateral arrests,” Homan said.
“There’s over 700,000 criminal aliens with criminal convictions,” Homan added. “ICE is going to do what they’re good at.”
While running for president in 2016, Trump made immigration and crime major issues, and that was another major theme during his successful 2024 campaign after nearly four years of so-called ‘open borders’ policies under the outgoing Biden-Harris administration.
President Joe Biden made Vice President Kamala Harris his ‘border czar,’ but she was widely viewed as having failed in that role as millions of people were allowed to enter the U.S. after crossing into the country illegally during her tenure.
Trump announced Monday that when he returns to office in the early months of next year, he will declare a “national emergency” to use “military assets” to deport illegal immigrants.
Trump claimed Truth Social after replying, “TRUE!!!” to a post by Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch that quoted him saying he would, though it seems clear that Trump plans to use National Guard troops, not active duty forces, for the task.
“GOOD NEWS: Reports are the incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program,” Fitton wrote on the social media platform.
“Trump has vowed to enact the largest deportation in history, starting when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20. Any attempt to use active-duty troops would be subject to legal challenges, as the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 limits the federal government from using the military to enforce domestic policy,” the New York Post reported.
“The act does not prohibit the National Guard from serving in a law enforcement capacity. The president-elect has also said he would invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to dismantle criminal gangs operating on American soil. The act — which requires Congress to declare war — would allow Trump to detain and remove dangerous foreign nationals that are deemed a threat to the US. Trump has yet to say whether he would declare war on a specific country — such as Venezuela — to authorize the removal of migrants,” the Post added.
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