On Thursday, Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced she would ask President-elect Donald Trump to adopt a policy requiring United States border officials to repatriate only her own nationals to her country.
"We hope to reach an agreement with the Trump administration so that, in case these deportations happen, they send people from other countries directly to their countries of origin," the newly elected leader told reporters in Mexico City.
While Mexico is not obligated to accept deportees from other states, it has previously hosted migrants from nations that have declined to take back their citizens from U.S. custody. Many of these governments, such as Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, frequently have adversarial relations with Washington.
Since Trump's victory in last month's presidential election, Mexican authorities have been preparing for the potential forced return of a significant portion of the estimated 4 million individuals from their country living illegally in the U.S.
Immigration reform was a central theme of Trump’s campaign, promising to deport up to 1 million undocumented aliens annually.
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