Border States in Mexico Prepare for Trump’s Mass Deportation Operations

Governors in Mexico’s northern border states began making preparations for President-Elect Donald Trump’s planned mass deportation operations. The president of Mexico told the governors to expect to receive migrants removed from the United States in February.

After Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s December 10 security meeting with the governors of the country’s 32 states, border region governors started preparing for the real possibility of mass deportations after Donald Trump’s January inauguration. In the border state of Coahuila, Governor Manolo Jimenez-Salinas gathered with authorities from both sides of the border to discuss and plan for an influx of migrants returning to Mexico.

During the Acapulco meeting in early December, Mexican President Sheinbaum specifically warned governors from border states about the possibility of mass removals and the need to begin preparations. According to a report in El Pais, a Spanish-language news agency, Sheinbaum warned the northern states that the deportations could start as early as February. Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia said of the meeting, “We didn’t speak of a specific strategy of deportations, but rather, that we be ready if they begin in February.”

On Friday, Coahuila Governor Manolo Jimenez-Salinas hosted a meeting attended by Norma Trevino, Mayor of Piedras Negras, the border city directly across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass, Texas, representatives from the government of Coahuila, representatives from Mexico’s Army National Guard, the Mexican Army, and a representative of the U.S. Border Patrol. Among other security issues discussed, a major topic included the future coordination between the United States and Mexico at points of repatriation for deportees returned to Mexico as part of the Trump administration’s plan for mass removals.

The meeting also focused on issues related to collaborating with Mexican Consul officers in the United States to address sensitive cases involving unaccompanied migrant children and other vulnerable migrants. According to a source within Customs and Border Protection, who is not authorized to speak to the media, the southwest border situation will likely change rapidly after the Trump inauguration. It should not come as a surprise to authorities in Mexico.

“Between the Remain in Mexico program and the returns under Title 42, Mexican border states saw thousands returned daily. Now, they deal with only a trickle,” the source told Breitbart Texas. The source says most of the border officials in Mexico were around in some capacity during the Trump administration when things were different, and thousands were returned to Mexico daily, leading to the lowest-ever level of crossings.

The Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the Remain in Mexico program began in January 2019 and was used by the Trump administration to return nearly 70,000 migrants to Mexico. The returned migrants were forced to wait in Mexico rather than be released into the United States to await their asylum hearing. With few exceptions, the migrants remained in Mexican border cities, requiring local authorities to provide shelter and food during the lengthy removal process.

Under Title 42, the COVID-19 Emergency Removal Authority, nearly 25,000 migrants were returned to Mexico during the first two months of the pandemic Emergency Expulsion Program in March and April 2020, according to the source. “That authority is not likely to come back absent a future pandemic, but the memory of massive migrant returns along the southwest border is not distant to the Mexican authorities. It’s wise for everyone to get ready in Mexico for what is coming,” the source emphasized.

Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol.  Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.