Mexico is gearing up to take back its citizens who have been living in the US illegally — and officials are planning to open more than 12,000 beds in shelters across the country to house the new arrivals.
The 25 planned shelters — which will each have the capacity to hold 500 people — will open their doors on President-elect Trump’s inauguration day, Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda announced on Monday, according to Border Report.
“This is a strategic plan to accommodate exclusively people who get deported after Jan. 20,” Olmeda said.
Olmeda said she takes Trump’s threats of a mass deportation seriously.
“What we do know, throughout his campaign, he threatened to do this, and since he was already president of the United States, we believe this time he will be stricter and tougher when it comes to deportations,” she said. “We are working to get ready and receive our migrants.”
The shelters are only for Mexican citizens who have been sent back to their home country. They will not house deported migrants from elsewhere.
“These shelters that are being planned are for those being repatriated who are coming from north to south, but no foreigners, only Mexicans, this must be made clear — Mexicans will be welcomed back to their country and their human rights will be respected,” Olmeda explained.
Five of the shelters will be located in the area just south of San Diego, the busiest region for illegal crossings along the US-Mexico border. Two others will be set up south of El Centro, California, according to Border Report.
The shelters will hold migrants for just a few days before they can be returned to their hometowns.
Each building will either house men, women, unaccompanied children or families.
Last month, Trump said Mexico’s newly-elected President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged to “stop migration” through her country bound for the US.
“Just had a wonderful conversation with the new President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border,” he added.
Sheinbaum, however, later put a different spin on the conversation.
“In our conversation with President Trump, I explained to him the comprehensive strategy that Mexico has followed to address the migration phenomenon, respecting human rights,” she wrote on X.
“Thanks to this, migrants and caravans are assisted before they reach the border. We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples.”
