Kristi Noem Claims Mexican President 'Turned Around Over Half a Million' Migrants Because Trump 'Forced Her To'

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem claimed that President Donald Trump "forced" his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum, to prevent hundreds of thousands of migrants from reaching the U.S. border, and that those figures should be counted as deportations.

Speaking at Trump's cabinet meeting to mark his first 100 days in office, Noem said "Mexico has finally come to the table" and is now "going to take a lot more people that we are able to send back."

"And she told me, sir, she turned around over half a million people before they even reached our border because you forced her to. We should be counting those as deportations. Those are all people who never even came here because they got the message because you were so aggressive. Thank you for what you're doing," Noem added.

Despite Noem's claims, Mexico has been ramping up immigration enforcement efforts before Trump took office. Last year the country intercepted over a million migrants, a record figure and double that of 2023, according to the country's interior ministry.

Much of Mexico's enforcement relies on what Luciana Gandini, a migration expert at Mexico's National Autonomous University, has described as a "chutes and ladders" approach, where migrants are intercepted and bused to southern states for processing. This strategy often disperses migrants, adding logistical, financial, and safety challenges to their journeys.

Sheinbaum has been repeatedly praised by Trump, with the U.S. president recently calling her a "fantastic person" over her willingness to negotiate and compromise with his administration. She has also emphasized the need to take that approach, but has also rebuked the U.S. on occasions.

Most recently, Sheinbaum criticized a DHS video campaign on Mexican television warning against unlawful migration, saying the ads contain discriminatory messages, violate human dignity and could incite violence against migrants. In fact, Sheinbaum said this week she was preparing legislation to ban foreign governments from purchasing airtime for political or ideological ads that insult Mexico or its values.