Donald Trump and the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, make a deal on illegal immigration.

 

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and President elect Donald Trump. Fox News/Getty.

Donald Trump and the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, have made a deal on illegal immigration. Fox News. Trump had threatened to impose a 25% tariff on Mexico on day one of his presidency, but he called Sheinbaum today. Both leaders praised each other in the call and said it was productive. Trump said that Mexico would stop the convoys from Central and South America and also said that they would work with Trump on the issue of illegal drug smuggling. Sheinbaum said that the call was productive and that Mexico had agreed to work with the Trump administration on security issues. 

En nuestra conversación con el presidente Trump, le expuse la estrategia integral que ha seguido México para atender el fenómeno migratorio, respetando los derechos humanos. Gracias a ello se atiende a las personas migrantes y a las caravanas previo a que lleguen a la frontera.…

— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) November 28, 2024

My Comment:

This outcome was extremely expected. Donald Trump had all the leverage when it came to Mexico. Mexico is far more dependent on us than we are on them and the 25% tariffs would have devastated them. And Trump still had the nuclear option, a tax on remittances. Mexico had little choice but to play ball with Donald Trump. 

The most important step here was ending the convoys coming into the country. There was a large one on its way to the United States composed of people that wanted to get into the country while Biden was still in office. Now those folks won't make it here and will be held in Mexico, where they will either be free to settle or turn back and go home. 

The war on drugs is going to be a longer term issue. Mexico is fairly corrupted by the cartels and that isn't likely to change under Sheinbaum. I don't see her as a strong president when it comes to fighting the cartels. But she can do more than what has been done recently on the issue and hopefully she will do so now. 

This also shows how Biden's immigration policy was a choice. All Biden had to do to end the convoys from Mexico was to make a threat and then a phone call and it would have ended. Millions of illegal immigrants would have never crossed the border and would have stayed in Mexico to be processed. But instead he just let them in and now it's going to be hard to send them out. 

As for Trump's relationship with Sheinbaum, I expect it to be a good one. Despite their differences in political affiliation, Trump is a fairly good diplomat and had a very good relationship with Mexico's former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is a political ally of Shienbaum. I expect them to be able to work together. 

The next step will be dealing with Canada. Trump and Trudeau get along well enough and we have a lot of leverage over Canada as well. Given that Trump has already gave the 25% tariff threat against Canada and closing the border would be a lot easier for them I expect that Trudeau will bend the knee as well. 

For those that care about illegal immigration, Trump has already justified their vote. Though stopping illegal immigration from Mexico won't solve the problem of the illegals already here it will stop new ones from arriving. That alone is a huge victory for anyone that cares about the issue.