In a surprising reversal, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has shifted her stance on accepting deported illegal immigrants from other countries— a move that could have had significant implications for President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming border policy. After months of resistance to taking in deportees, Sheinbaum now appears to be softening her position, signaling a potential new strategy for handling immigrants who are sent back to Mexico. Critics argue this change could further strain Mexico’s already overburdened resources and allow the flow of illegal immigration to continue unchecked as the new Trump Administration grapples with an inherited record surge in illegal alien crossings.
During a press conference, Sheinbaum reversed her previous stance and suddenly said that Mexico is not ruling out the possibility of taking in illegal immigrants deported by the U.S.— regardless of nationality. However, she did say she would request that the U.S. compensate Mexico for returning them to their home countries.
“There will be time to speak with the United States government if these deportations really happen, but we will receive them here, we are going to receive them properly, and we have a plan,” Sheinbaum said.
In a stunning turn of events, Sheinbaum backtracked on her previous pledge from last month when she insisted that Mexico would pressure Trump to send deported immigrants from other countries directly back to their homeland. She recently said that her government would vigorously oppose Trump’s tough immigration policies. While Mexico isn’t required to accept non-Mexican immigrants from other countries, it has done so in the past. For instance, Cuba and Venezuela frequently refuse U.S. deportation flights but will often accept deportees if they’re sent from Mexico instead.
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In November, Trump announced that he and Sheinbaum agreed to stop the massive flow of illegal immigrants into the United States by “strengthening collaboration on security issues.” The sudden change of heart came after Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico if it did not take action to stop illegal immigrants from entering America through its southern border.
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