Mexico watches cautiously as Trump takes charge

Some of the sweeping executive actions President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office Monday require buy-in from Mexico, which has signaled it will coordinate with the new administration on its immigration policies.

In her regular morning press conference the day after Trump’s inauguration, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government wants an open dialogue with Trump, and that “it’s important to have a cool head.”

Sheinbaum indicated that Mexico will continue to take the non-Mexican migrants who are sometimes deported from the United States to Mexico, rather than back to their home country. Trump’s order to reinforce the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires migrants to wait outside the United States for an asylum verdict, hinges on Mexico’s compliance.

Sheinbaum said while she will work to protect Mexico’s sovereignty, her government will also treat migrants “in a humanitarian way.”

“The people of Mexico are always going to defend our sovereignty and independence,” Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum also said she would protect Mexico’s sovereignty in the context of Trump’s executive order that moves toward designating drug cartels foreign terrorist organizations. She said she would continue to coordinate with the United States in actions against cartels, but said that Mexico is a “free, independent and sovereign country.” In the past, Sheinbaum has spoken firmly against Trump’s threats to undertake military action in Mexico.

Trump did not follow through on his promise to enact tariffs on Mexico and Canada on his first day in office, but did suggest he would put them in place starting next month. He has threatened a 25% tariff on two of the United States’ biggest trading partners if they don’t stop the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders.

In her press conference, Sheinbaum did not say whether she would put in place retaliatory tariffs, which she has suggested she might do in the past.

“We have to remain calm and take it step by step,” Sheinbaum said.

It’s not just politicians in Mexico who are closely watching as Trump starts his term in office. Jorge Ricardes watched the inauguration from his hometown, Hermosillo. In the border state of Sonora, Trump’s immigration policies can have a real-life impact.

Ricardes, who sat at the foot of the cathedral in the main plaza, mostly liked what he saw in Trump’s speech and thinks the new president will be good for the economy. He doesn’t believe Trump will end up taking as hard a line on immigration as he says he will.

“At the end of the day, we’re business partners,” Ricardes said. “So there has to be a little more diplomacy so both sides benefit.”

Sofia Lugo shared an elote with her young son on a bench in the plaza. She said Trump “talks and talks and talks, but he doesn’t execute what he talks about” with regard to border policies. But she called the way Trump talks about Mexicans “racist.”

“Because we’re neighbors, there should be a little more harmony,” Lugo said.