US President Donald Trump has threatened to double tariffs on Mexico unless its government stops a group of more than 1,000 migrants travelling north towards the United States.
In a strongly worded social media post on Thursday, Trump warned that the migrants would not be allowed to enter the country and demanded immediate action from Mexico.
“Mexico must stop them, NOW, and if they do not do so, the tariffs on Mexico will be IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED,” he wrote.
“There will be no leniency!”
An estimated 1,500 migrants, most of them from Central America, began travelling north from the southern Mexican city of Tapachula near the Guatemalan border on Tuesday.
The group is hoping that the Democrats’ victory in last week’s US midterm elections, which will give the party control of Congress from January, could create new opportunities for them to live and work in the United States.
However, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged that a group was heading towards the US but insisted that no migrant caravans had reached the American border since Trump returned to office last year.
She said the migrants had been informed about the difficulties of entering the US, while Mexico was exploring ways to return them to their countries of origin.
“There will be no acts of repression,” Sheinbaum said during her regular press conference.
Local media reports have also suggested that authorities in Mexico’s southern state of Chiapas turned back some migrants attempting to join the group this week.
Meanwhile, US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin backed Trump’s warning, saying Washington would use all available resources to secure its borders.
“This illegal migrant caravan will NOT be allowed to enter our country. Full stop,” he wrote on social media.
The latest threat comes as Washington and Mexico City negotiate a new trade agreement after Trump decided in July not to extend the existing United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Trump’s immigration crackdown has significantly reduced the flow of migrants towards the US southern border, leaving several migrant shelters in Mexico largely empty.
The Republican president returned to the White House in 2025 after campaigning heavily on border security and concerns over illegal immigration.
Although he has repeatedly highlighted migrant caravans as a threat, Trump has acknowledged in recent months that immigration has become a less politically powerful issue for him and fellow Republicans.
Following the November 3 midterm elections, Trump also expressed confidence that Texas’ newly elected Democratic governor, Gina Hinojosa, would support stronger border security.
At the same time, the president has recognised growing political opposition to his administration’s deportation operations carried out by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In an interview with CBS programme 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump admitted that the deportation force had been “too tough” and said he was open to reaching an immigration agreement with Democrats once they take control of Congress.
