Mexican President Rebukes Trump’s Immigration Claim

President-elect Donald Trump declared victory in curbing illegal immigration through Mexico after speaking with the country's president.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum dismissed Trump's claims, asserting that Mexico was already addressing the issue and had no plans to close its borders. She effectively called out Trump for lying. I Photo: Sheelah Craighead, Trump White House Archived

However, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum dismissed his claims, asserting that Mexico was already addressing the issue and had no plans to close its borders. She effectively called out Trump for lying, Fatima Hussein reported for the Associated Press.

The conversation came days after Trump threatened sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Trump claimed Sheinbaum had “agreed to stop migration through Mexico,” but the Mexican president stated that she had merely reiterated Mexico's existing efforts to manage migrant caravans.

She characterized the conversation as “excellent” and emphasized that “Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and peoples.”

Mexico has consistently rejected Trump’s prior boasts, such as his claim that Mexico would pay for the border wall—a promise that was never fulfilled. In 2024, the U.S. imported $378.9 billion in goods from Mexico, surpassing imports from China and Canada.

Trump described the discussion as “very productive” on Truth Social, asserting it had “effectively closed our Southern Border.”

In contrast, Sheinbaum highlighted on social media that migrant caravans were not reaching the U.S. border due to Mexico’s ongoing measures, Jill Colvin and Mark Stevenson also reported for the AP.