İSTANBUL
US President Donald Trump threatened Thursday to “immediately” double tariffs on Mexico unless Mexican authorities stop what he claimed were large migrant caravans advancing toward the southern US border.
“Mexico must stop them, now, and if they do not do so, the tariffs on Mexico will be immediately doubled,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, adding: “There will be no leniency!”
Linking the purported border surge to Tuesday’s midterm elections, in which Democrats captured majorities in both chambers of Congress and flipped key state governorships, Trump contended that an “invasion” of the US is resuming due to the “perceived loss by the Republicans.”
He alleged that “huge caravans” are organizing and beginning an “illegal march through Mexico,” claiming that foreign nations are sending unwanted individuals toward the US while insisting they “will not be accepted.”
Trump noted that Mexican officials, US Border Patrol and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency overseeing immigration enforcement and removals, have all been informed of his warning.
He also directed his notice toward Texas leadership, referring to the state’s incoming Democratic Gov. Gina Hinojosa, who unseated incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
The Mexican government has not issued an immediate statement regarding Trump’s tariff threat or claims concerning migrant movements.
Enforcement-first border strategy
The warning aligns with Trump’s deterrence-based approach to irregular migration, which prioritizes restricting entry, sharply limiting asylum access, expanding detentions and deportations, and utilizing border barriers alongside troop deployments.
After taking office, the US president declared a national border emergency, resumed border wall construction and deployed the National Guard and active-duty personnel to the southern frontier.
While the campaign has sharply reduced border encounters, it has drawn criticism for the deportation of noncriminal migrants, detention conditions and the removal of legal protections.
Washington has simultaneously pressed Mexico and regional transit countries to intercept migrants before they reach the US border, repeatedly using trade penalties as leverage against Mexican authorities.
