First posted on Instagram
President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to immediately double tariffs on Mexico if the country does not stop migrant caravans moving through its territory toward the United States, warning there would be "no leniency."
Trump issued the threat in a post on Truth Social on Thursday morning, saying the caravans were forming again after the midterm elections and that Mexico, the governor of Texas, the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement had all been informed.
"Here we go again! With the perceived loss by the Republicans in the Midterms - I WAS NOT ON THE BALLOT - the INVASION of our Country is taking place again. Huge CARAVANS are forming and beginning their illegal march through Mexico," Trump wrote.
"Many of the people in these Caravans are those that various countries don't want - 'Send them to America,' they say - But they will not be accepted! MEXICO MUST STOP THEM, NOW, and if they do not do so, the Tariffs on Mexico will be IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED," he continued. "Mexico, the governor of Texas, the very liberal new governor of Texas, our great Border Patrol, and ICE, have been so informed. There will be no leniency!"
The threat came as a migrant caravan of about 1,500 people, including families with young children, continued its journey north through southern Mexico on Wednesday. The group, which its members have called "Dios con Nosotros" ("God With Us"), departed Tapachula, in the southern state of Chiapas near the Guatemalan border, on Tuesday, according to Reuters, and is heading for Mexico City, more than 1,000 kilometres away, to ask the Mexican federal government for assistance and protection.
Many of the migrants are from Central America, and some told Reuters they had been encouraged by the Democratic Party's victory in last week's midterm elections in the United States, in which Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, and hoped the political shift could eventually create more welcoming immigration pathways. Analysts have cautioned, however, that the election result does not change immigration rules overnight, and that the Trump administration retains authority over border enforcement, asylum processing and deportations.
Mexico has been moving to manage the caravan. Al Jazeera reported on Thursday that Mexico planned to issue one-year visas to the most vulnerable among the migrants and ask the others to leave the country within 20 days.
Trump has repeatedly used the threat of tariffs against Mexico to press it on migration. In 2019, during his first term, he threatened a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican imports, rising to 25 percent, unless Mexico curbed the flow of migrants. In November 2024, as president-elect, he pledged a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada until drugs, in particular fentanyl, and illegal immigration stopped. Tariffs on Mexico have since been imposed, delayed and renegotiated more than once, and the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is due for a review in 2026.
Mexico is one of the United States' largest trading partners, and tariffs on its goods would raise costs for American importers and consumers while putting pressure on Mexican exporters. Trump has argued that tariffs are a tool to force neighbouring countries to act on border security and drugs.
It was not immediately clear on Thursday what tariff rate Trump meant by doubling the tariffs, or when any increase would take effect. The White House did not immediately issue further details, and Mexico's government had not publicly responded to the latest threat by the time of publication.