As the second Donald Trump administration begins a major crackdown on illegal immigration in the United States, it has been revealed that illegal immigrants who have been caught are already being transferred to Mexico, with deportation procedures now in full swing. The Trump administration has begun consultations with the Mexican government regarding the deportation process and border security.
On January 22nd, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced at a press conference that “the dialogue process with the Trump administration began yesterday.” According to the Mexican government, individuals caught in the crackdown on illegal immigrants and deported from the United States are being repatriated to Mexican authorities. The previous night, around 20 individuals who had been working on farms in the Denver, Colorado area was handed over to the Mexican Immigration Authority (INM) at the Tijuana border checkpoint in Baja California, near the U.S.-Mexico border. These individuals had travelled by car to San Diego and then crossed the border bridge on foot.
In response to this large-scale deportation operation, the Mexican government has announced the implementation of an immigrant acceptance policy known as “Mexico Embracing You.” The country is rapidly setting up 11 deportation points along the border to receive illegal immigrants being deported from the United States, and temporary housing centres for deportees are also being established.
Alongside this operation, the Trump administration has started to pressure immigrant sanctuary cities in the United States that are not cooperating with deportation efforts. According to the Washington Post (WP), Acting Deputy Attorney General Emile Bove sent a memo to Justice Department employees on January 21st, stating that states and local governments have a legal obligation to cooperate with the administration’s immigration enforcement policy. “Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, or otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related directives,” Bove said in the memo. He also instructed federal prosecutors to “investigate cases involving such illegal activities with the possibility of prosecution.”
The WP noted that Acting Deputy Attorney General Bove’s directive is likely to face strong opposition from cities, states, and legal groups led by Democratic mayors, many of whom did not cooperate with Trump’s immigration policy during his first term. These mayors are often referred to as running “sanctuary” cities for illegal immigrants. Many lawyers argue that, in most cases, it is not against the law for state and local government officials to refuse cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.