MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that no migrant caravans have reached the U.S. border since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, responding to his threat to double tariffs on Mexican goods unless Mexico stops migrants from traveling through its territory.
“Not a single migrant caravan has reached the north” since January 2025, Sheinbaum said at her daily news briefing.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Sheinbaum said a caravan of about 600 migrants traveling through the southern state of Chiapas had largely dispersed after its members were told that reaching the United States would be “very difficult.”
She said Mexican authorities were also in talks with another group of several hundred Honduran migrants, encouraging them to return to their home country.
Asked whether Mexico would use force to break up the caravans, Sheinbaum ruled out such measures, saying authorities have “extensive experience” accompanying migrants and explaining that they have little chance of crossing into the United States.
Earlier Thursday, Trump claimed on Truth Social that the United States faced an “invasion” following midterm elections in which Democrats won control of Congress.
“Huge caravans are forming and beginning their illegal march through Mexico. Many of the people in these Caravans are those that various countries don’t want," he wrote. “MEXICO MUST STOP THEM, NOW, and if they do not do so, the Tariffs on Mexico will be IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED."
Following the election, Trump named Stephen Miller, an architect of his hard-line immigration policies, as White House chief of staff.
Trump’s latest tariff threat comes as Mexico and the United States continue negotiations aimed at reducing or eliminating duties Washington imposed on several Mexican products last year.
The talks coincide with a review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which began in July.
Mexico is seeking significant reductions in the 10% tariffs imposed on Mexican goods not covered by the trade agreement, as well as the 25% duty on medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
Negotiations have also addressed a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum and a 17% countervailing duty on Mexican tomatoes.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
