MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday voiced readiness for the potential US mass deportations of migrants, which US President-elect Donald Trump has indicated will happen once he is in office.
"In the event that there are deportations, we will receive the Mexicans, and we have a plan for that," Sheinbaum told reporters at a daily morning press conference.
Expressing her disapproval of "migrants being treated like criminals," she said, "that is why institutions of justice exist everywhere around the world" to protect basic rights.
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The government is strengthening the network of Mexican consulates in the United States to better protect migrants at the risk of deportation, she said.
In the coming days, Sheinbaum will meet with her cabinet to review the bilateral issues that need to be addressed with Trump's team, including immigration, security, trade, and the free trade agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada.
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Trump, who is to be sworn in on Jan. 20, 2025, has threatened to stiffen measures to stop the flow of undocumented migrants across the US-Mexico border.