During his first tenure as President of the United States, one of Donald Trump’s primary goals was to secure America’s porous southern border. This included a new border wall as well as enforcing illegal immigration laws.

However, when Joe Biden got into the White House, the number of illegal crossings skyrocketed during his first few years, and the border quickly became a hotly contested subject. States like Texas claimed illegal immigration was much worse than the Biden administration reported, and the influx of undocumented travelers had become uncontrollable.

According to various polls, the border was a primary topic of concern for many voters, which at least partially contributed to Trump’s decisive victory.

Now entering his second stint as POTUS, Trump is once again tackling one of the nation’s biggest issues. Even before officially taking office, he recently threatened to hit Mexico with heavy 25% tariffs (a threat that also applies to Canada); if Mexico does nothing to help stem the tide of illegal immigrants and drugs into the U.S., those tariffs are coming.

At first, Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, said Mexico would retaliate by raising tariffs on their end. But then Trump had a private conversation with Sheinbaum Pardo, and he said her tune changed significantly.

Per Fox News, via a Trump post on Truth Social:
Just had a wonderful conversation with the new President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border.

We also talked about what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States, and also, U.S. consumption of these drugs. It was a very productive conversation!

Courtesy Getty Images

In a follow-up post, Trump added that “Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border,” which would of course “go a long way toward stopping the illegal invasion of the USA. Thank you!!!”

While Sheinbaum didn’t exactly repeat Trump’s words, she left a post on X saying the two spoke about “strengthening collaboration on security issues,” and added that the discussion was “excellent” (via Reuters). This would indicate that Mexico will clamp down on migrants from Central and South America, who must pass through Mexico to reach the U.S.

There is some question as to whether or not Mexico is behind the idea of more border security – like a strengthened wall and more border agents – because she said she doesn’t want to “close borders” and told Trump that migrant caravans are “being served” in Mexico, to keep them from the U.S. Border. So the two seem to have differing accounts of the conversation.

Even so, to those who worry about the stability of our country, this appears to be a step in the right direction.

Courtesy Getty Images

President-elect Trump isn’t stopping there, though, as he has also threatened to nail China with an extra 10% tariff if they refuse to address the massive amount of fentanyl flooding into America. Reports show that fentanyl is often manufactured in Mexico using Chinese precursors, then smuggled across the Mexico/U.S. border with the help of drug cartels.

It’s obvious to Trump’s supporters that he’s serious about protecting the U.S. from negative outside influences, and re-establishing solidarity, which falls in line with his 2024 campaign messaging. This week, Trump said:

Millions of lives being so needlessly destroyed. By the time the Campaign is over, everyone will know how really bad the horror of this Drug is.

If Trump is indeed successful in stemming the tide of illegal migrants and drugs into the country, he will undoubtedly become more popular with citizens who have complained about this problem for years. And under the Biden administration, many will argue the situation only got exponentially worse.

Come January, when Trump officially takes office, many expect him to continue his quest to protect and strengthen the U.S. through a series of bold border and national security moves.

Key Takeaways:

• Donald Trump and Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum had a private conversation about illegal immigration and border security.
• In a post on Truth Social, Trump claims Sheinbaum promised to stop illegal migrant activity at the border, though Sheinbaum didn’t exactly confirm those words.
• If Mexico doesn’t take steps to stop the ‘invasion,’ Trump could follow through with his 25 percent tariff threat.

Source: Fox News