Trump Threatens to Double Tariffs on Mexico Over New Migrant Caravan Heading North

US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to double tariffs on Mexico unless it halts a group of more than a thousand migrants walking north toward the United States, declaring that they would not be permitted to cross the border.

"Here we go again!" Trump wrote on social media. "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 added that Mexico, the newly elected Texas governor, the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement had all been informed, and warned there would be "no leniency."

The caravan, estimated at around 1,500 people and made up mostly of Central Americans, departed on Tuesday from Tapachula, a southern Mexican city near the border with Guatemala. The migrants reportedly hoped that the Democratic victory in last week's US midterm election could open pathways for them to live and work in the United States.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged that a group of people was walking northward, but noted that no migrant caravans have reached the US border since Trump returned to power last year. She told a regular press conference that those in the caravan had been informed of how difficult entry into the United States would be, and that Mexico was seeking to return them to their countries of origin.

"There will be no acts of repression," Sheinbaum added. Some local media reported that authorities in the southern state of Chiapas turned back migrants trying to join the group this week, while Mexico's migration institute and the Chiapas state government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin backed Trump's warning, writing on social media: "We will utilize all assets to make sure our borders are secure. This illegal migrant caravan will NOT be allowed to enter our country. Full stop."

The tariff threat lands while Washington and Mexico City are negotiating a trade deal, after Trump decided in July not to extend the US-Mexico-Canada trade pact. His administration's hardline immigration policies have largely stemmed the flow of migrants to the southern border, leaving many Mexican migrant shelters empty.

Trump won re-election in 2024 partly on voter concern over the border, and he has periodically highlighted migrant caravans since then, though he has said in recent months that the issue has lost some political force for him and the Republican Party. After the November 3 midterm election, he told reporters he was sure the newly elected Texas governor, Democrat Gina Hinojosa, would "want to have security at the Texas border."

The warning also comes as Trump has acknowledged political backlash over his administration's deportation program run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On Sunday, he told CBS' 60 Minutes that the deportation force had been "too tough" and said he was open to reaching an immigration deal with Democrats once they take control of Congress in January.