Trump threatens to double tariffs on Mexico over migrant caravans.
Approximately 1,500 migrants left southern Mexico heading north.
Mexico and Washington are negotiating reductions to existing trade tariffs.
President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday, November 12, to immediately double US tariffs on Mexico unless President Claudia Sheinbaum's government stops migrant caravans traveling through Mexican territory toward the US border.
The warning appeared on Truth Social, where Trump claimed that new migrant caravans were forming following the Republican Party's defeat in the recent US midterm elections.
«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,» Trump wrote, according to the EFE news agency.
The Republican president claimed that large groups of migrants had begun organizing after his party lost control of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections.
In his post, Trump warned that «huge caravans» were forming and beginning what he called an «illegal march through Mexico.» He also alleged that the groups included people whom other countries did not want.
His remarks followed reports that approximately 1,500 migrants from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua had departed Tapachula, Chiapas, on Tuesday, November 10, hoping to reach the United States.
The president's warning has renewed tensions over immigration enforcement between Washington and Mexico City at a time when the two governments are also engaged in trade negotiations.
Although Trump threatened to impose the increases immediately if Mexico failed to act, he did not specify which existing tariffs would be doubled or explain the legal mechanism his administration would use.
Without those details, it remains unclear which Mexican exports could face higher import duties or how businesses and consumers might be affected.
The threat comes as Mexico and the United States negotiate reductions to existing tariffs, including duties affecting Mexican steel and other manufactured goods.
According to EFE, Sheinbaum's administration remains hopeful that the two countries can reach a trade agreement before the end of 2026.
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly used tariff threats to pressure trading partners, including countries with longstanding economic ties to the United States.
Trump claimed that his warning had already been communicated to Mexican authorities and US agencies responsible for immigration and border enforcement.
He also referred to outgoing Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Democratic Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, whom he characterized as «very liberal.»
According to his Truth Social post, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol had also been informed of the situation.
«There will be no leniency!» Trump concluded, reiterating his position on migrants attempting to enter the United States.
The latest warning comes after the November 3 midterm elections, in which Democrats regained control of both chambers of Congress, according to EFE.
Following the Republican defeat, Trump appointed Stephen Miller, a leading architect of his administration's restrictive immigration policies, as White House chief of staff.
The appointment signaled continuity in the administration's immigration enforcement strategy as Trump once again linked trade measures to border security demands.
For now, Trump's announcement remains a threat rather than an implemented tariff increase. His administration has not identified the affected products, issued a formal tariff order, or announced an effective date for the proposed increases.
