Donald Trump lies about alleged migration deal with Mexico

During a phone call between US President-elect Donald Trump, Mexican head of state Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to “stop” immigration to the US, according to the US Republican – a statement that Sheinbaum quickly rejected. The President “agreed to stop migration through Mexico and to the United States and thus close our southern border,” Trump said on his online network Truth Social on Wednesday. Sheinbaum then explained on the Internet service X that her country had no plans to close its borders.

Mexico’s position is not “to close the borders, but to build bridges between governments and between peoples,” explained Sheinbaum. She explained her country’s strategy to Trump: Mexico takes care of the migrants “before they reach the border.”

Before Trump’s comments, Sheinbaum had already reported an “excellent” telephone conversation with X. Trump also expressed himself positively and wrote of a “wonderful conversation” with the president.

Sheinbaum initially stated that he had spoken to Trump about Mexico’s “strategy” regarding migration. She gave no information about closing the border. According to Sheinbaum, the two also discussed increasing cooperation on security issues and Mexico’s efforts “to prevent the use of fentanyl.”

For his first day in office, Trump announced an aggressive trade policy with high tariffs against neighboring countries Canada and Mexico as well as against its biggest rival China (You can read what that means here). Imports from Canada and Mexico would be subject to a tariff of 25 percent, and there would be an additional surcharge of ten percent for goods from China, he explained on Monday evening.

The Republican, who begins his second term as US President on January 20th, linked the announced tariff increases with the demand on the three countries to stop drug smuggling and illegal migration into the USA. Trump had made illegal migration one of his most important campaign issues and promised that he would carry out a mass deportation with the help of the US military.

Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Wednesday that “400,000 jobs” were at risk in the United States. He cited a study based on data from US car manufacturers with production sites in Mexico.

In addition, U.S. consumers will be hit hard, Ebrard said, referring to the market for pickup SUVs, most of which are made in Mexico. The announced tariffs would increase the cost of a new vehicle by $3,000, he continued, calling it a “shot in the foot.”