OPINION:
Word is Mexico’s government is busily at work to halt migrant caravans making their way northward to cross into America illegally. Why? Mexico’s government is afraid of the 25 percent tariffs President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to slap it with once he’s inaugurated.
Would you look at that. Trump is two weeks from taking office, and he’s already done more than President Biden’s administration — more than border czar Kamala Harris! — to stop hundreds and thousands of migrants from illegally crossing into America. Who knew Mexico could move so rapidly on such matters?
“Jittery Mexico breaks up caravans, drops migrants in cartel-infested Acapulco ahead of Trump inauguration,” the New York Post wrote.
“Migrants left stranded in troubled resort as Mexico disperses them far from US border,” The Associated Press wrote.
“Migrant caravan being held at resort by Mexican authorities,” NewsNation wrote.
The message being sent migrants’ way is clear: Stay away from America. Don’t even try to cross the border. The Mexican government calls it the policy of “dispersion and exhaustion,” where law enforcement officials let migrants walk, walk, walk for days, until they reach the point of exhaustion, and then they offer them bus rides to nearby cities, ostensibly to review their immigration statuses and help them to reach their desired locations. It’s a scheme. Once the migrants exit the bus, they find themselves abandoned.
“Immigration [officials] told us they were going to give us a permit to transit the country freely for 10, 15 days, and it wasn’t like that,” one Venezuelan bused by Mexican authorities to a city and then abandoned said to Fox News. “They left us dumped here without any way to get out. They won’t sell us [bus] tickets. They won’t sell us anything.”
It’s almost as if Mexico’s governing officials are cooperating with America to secure U.S.-Mexico borders.
And that is exactly what is transpiring — because the Mexico government has been set on notice that if it doesn’t stop the flow of migrants across the country and into America, then Trump will hike fees on products made in Mexico to the point where nobody will buy them anymore because they’ll be too expensive.
If Mexico loses revenues due to hiked tariffs, then Mexican politicians will lose revenues — and suddenly, voila, like magic, the good government of Mexico sees the practicality in helping enforce border controls.
Some people just aren’t motivated to do the right thing until doing the thing they want to do, no matter how wrong, results in personal consequences.
This ain’t the days of border czar Kamala Harris, where climate change was to blame for the surges of illegals into America. Tom Homan is a different breed — a different, unapologetic, determined and no-nonsense “deport ‘em all, boys” kind of guy. Homeland Security under South Dakota Gov. Kristi Norm will not be the see-no-illegals, hear-no-illegals, speak-of-no-illegals DHS of Alejandro Mayorkas.
Trump is no Biden — Trump is no puppet.
“Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country,” Trump said, at a recent press conference. “They can stop them.”
Yes. They can. In fact, they already are. And if that’s the Trump effect before he’s even sworn in — imagine the law and order at the border once he’s inaugurated and begins his second term. Mexico, apparently, happily, thankfully, is doing just that.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.