‘We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples,’ Sheinbaum said.
One day after the two leaders spoke, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo denied U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s claim that Mexico would close its border with the United States.
“Everyone has their own way of communicating, but I can assure you, I give you the certainty that we would never—and we would be incapable of it—propose that we would close the border,” Sheinbaum said during a regular morning news conference on Nov. 28.
“It has never been our approach, and of course, we don’t agree with that.”
Trump had said the evening before that the two had a “productive conversation” after he reiterated earlier in the week his intentions to apply a 25 percent tariff on all exports entering the United States from Mexico and Canada. Trump suggested the tariffs would be retaliation for illegal immigration, crime, and drug trafficking across the northern and southern borders.
“[Sheinbaum] has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border. We also talked about what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States, and also, U.S. consumption of these drugs,” Trump wrote in a pair of Truth Social posts.
“Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border, effective immediately.”
Minutes later, Sheinbaum wrote in a post on X that she had an “excellent conversation with President Donald Trump,” discussing her country’s continued efforts to alleviate the border crisis by helping migrants before they attempt the journey.
Tuve una excelente conversación con el presidente Donald Trump. Abordamos la estrategia mexicana sobre el fenómeno de la migración y compartí que no están llegando caravanas a la frontera norte porque son atendidas en México.
— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) November 27, 2024
También hablamos de reforzar la colaboración en… pic.twitter.com/PlGS5w3ZpC
“We discussed Mexico’s strategy on the migration phenomenon, and I shared that caravans are not arriving at the northern border because they are being taken care of in Mexico,” she wrote in Spanish.
“I explained to [Trump] the comprehensive strategy that Mexico has followed to address the migration phenomenon, respecting human rights,” Sheinbaum said. “Thanks to this, migrants and caravans are assisted before they arrive at the border. We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples.”
By Jacob Burg
