President Donald Trump put Mexico on notice Thursday: Stop the migrant caravans heading toward the United States or face an immediate doubling of tariffs.
The warning came as roughly 1,500 migrants, mostly from Central America, traveled north after leaving Tapachula, a southern Mexican city near the Guatemalan border, on Tuesday.
Trump accused migrants of treating Republicans’ midterm losses as an opening to test his border crackdown.
“Here we go again!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “With the perceived loss by the Republicans in the Midterms – I WAS NOT ON THE BALLOT- the INVASION of our Country is taking place again.”
The president demanded that Mexican authorities intervene before the groups reach the U.S. border.
“Huge CARAVANS are forming and beginning their illegal march through Mexico,” Trump wrote. “Many of the people in these Caravans are those that various countries don’t want – ‘Send them to America,’ they say – But they will not be accepted!
“MEXICO MUST STOP THEM, NOW, and if they do not do so, the Tariffs on Mexico will be IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED,” he added. “MEXICO, THE GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, THE VERY LIBERAL NEW GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, OUR GREAT BORDER PATROL, & ICE, HAVE BEEN SO INFORMED. There will be no leniency!”
His ultimatum comes as Democrats prepare to take control of state attorney general offices that could influence the fate of immigration enforcement laws.
In Texas, Democratic Attorney General-elect Nathan Johnson could abandon the state’s defense of Senate Bill 4, which authorizes state authorities to arrest and prosecute people suspected of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
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The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the law to take effect in April while litigation continues, according to Reuters.
Johnson will succeed Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who passed on another term to pursue an unsuccessful Senate bid. A change in the state’s legal position would not, by itself, repeal the law.
Iowa faces a similar question. The Supreme Court is considering whether to hear the state’s appeal of a ruling blocking its own immigration enforcement law.
Incoming Democratic Attorney General Nate Willems could decline to defend that measure if the justices take the case, Reuters reported.
The potential shifts come after Trump acknowledged earlier this month that his immigration enforcement approach might have appeared “too tough” to some voters.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, meanwhile, pushed back against any move toward amnesty during a Wednesday appearance on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show.”
“I don’t think we can entertain amnesty in a conversation,” he said. “We have to be a country focused on rule of law. In Florida we’ve deported a record number, tens of thousands of criminal illegal aliens, child predators, murderers, people who have committed violent crimes, and we’re at an all-time crime low. We’re safer than ever after shutting down the border.”
Uthmeier credited immigration enforcement with improving public safety, defending the crackdown as other states prepare for a change in leadership.
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[ H/T Trending Politics ]
