US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that Mexico has agreed to “stop” migration, effectively closing the US southern border. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo , however, responded to Trump’s claim and said that Mexico’s strategy is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and people.
After a telephonic exchange with Pardo, Trump said, “Just had a wonderful conversation with the new President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.”
“She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border,” he added.
Pardo, however, did not immediately respond to Trump’s remarks and shared brief details of a discussion about migration “strategy.”
“We discussed Mexico’s strategy on the migration phenomenon and I shared that caravans are not arriving at the northern border because they are being taken care of in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said on X.
Trump said that he and Sheinbaum Pardo also discussed illegal drugs coming into the US from south of the border during their “very productive conversation.”
“We also talked about what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States, and also, U.S. consumption of these drugs,” he wrote.
“It was a very productive conversation!” he added.
This comes days after Trump said that he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on Mexican and Canadian imports and 10 percent on goods from China.
“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social page.
Meanwhile, Mexican economy minister Marcelo Ebrard said that almost “400,000 jobs will be lost” in the United States if Trump followed through on his threat. He cited a study based on figures from US carmakers that manufacture in Mexico.
Ebrard said the tariffs would also hit US consumers hard, citing the US market for pickup trucks, most of which are manufactured in Mexico. The minister said that the tariffs would add $3,000 to the cost of a new vehicle.
“The impact of this measure will chiefly be felt by consumers in the United States… That is why we say that it would be a shot in the foot,” Ebrard told reporters, speaking alongside Sheinbaum at her regular morning conference.
Illegal migration was one of the top issues in the recently concluded US presidential elections.
Trump vowed to enact the largest deportation in history, starting when he takes the oath of office January 20.
Earlier this month, the president-elect confirmed that he would declare a “national emergency” to deport illegal migrants with the help of “military assets” once he steps back into office.