Mexico is developing an app that would allow U.S. migrants facing deportation to alert their families and local U.S. consulates if they are about to be detained by authorities, a senior official said Friday. . He added that the government plans to ensure each Mexican national receives due process in the United States before being deported.
The app, called “Alert Button,” is designed in preparation for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants expected to occur after President-elect Trump is sworn into office on January 20. The cornerstone of President Trump's second term is national security. Across our borders, we carry out the largest mass deportation program the United States has ever seen.
Many Mexicans living in the United States illegally are likely to be targeted by the new Trump administration. The Mexican government estimates that there are 11.5 million immigrants with some form of legal residency in the United States and 4.8 million without legal residency or proper documentation.
Migrants leave the country near the Rio Grande River along the U.S.-Mexico border in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, on December 18, 2024. Immigrants check their cell phones, right? (David Peinado/Bloomberg, left, Luis Boza/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images)
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The new app, expected to be available in January, will allow users to press a tab to send alert notifications to pre-selected relatives and to the nearest Mexican consulate of 53 in the United States.
“If you find yourself in a situation where detention is imminent, press the alarm button and a signal will be sent to the nearest consulate,” Mexico's Foreign Secretary Juan Ramon de la Fuente said.
He said it had already been deployed in small-scale tests and “seems to be working very well.”
De la Fuente described this as a kind of panic button, ensuring that Mexicans facing deportation are given due process and that their rights are properly understood before possible deportation. It added that it had reportedly strengthened its consular staff by hiring “329 legal representatives.” .
President-elect Trump has vowed to secure the border and carry out the largest mass deportation program in U.S. history. (AP Photo/Rick Scutelli)
U.S. authorities are required to notify their home country's consulate when a foreign national is detained. The Mexican government announced that it is increasing consular staff and legal assistance to assist migrants in legal proceedings related to deportation.
The government also said it has set up a 24-hour call center to answer migrants' questions and educate them about their rights ahead of “possible arrest or other threatening action.”
In a statement, de la Fuente said the Mexican government strictly adheres to international law and protects the human rights of U.S. citizens.
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“We want to tell our compatriots that they are not alone and will not be alone,” he said, reiterating that there is a consular network to fulfill that mission.
The foreign minister said that deporting someone from the United States requires a court order or a judgment of deportation, and that the consular team will be “very vigilant to ensure that due process is followed.”
President Trump has already clashed with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum over immigration, proposing to impose a 25% tariff on Mexican imports due to the influx of illegal immigrants. illegal drugs. Sheinbaum said such a move could lead to a trade war between the two countries and argued that the government is already cracking down on immigrants entering the United States.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed supporters in Mexico City on October 1. She clashed with President-elect Trump over immigration. (AP/Fernando Llano)
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The United States has recorded an unprecedented number of illegal immigrants crossing the border under the Biden-Harris administration. The number of illegal immigrants listed on ICE's non-custodial records has soared to nearly 7.7 million, more than double the number since Trump left office. At the end of 2020, there were 3.2 million people.
According to ICE's annual report released in October, ICE deported 271,484 illegal immigrants to 192 countries in fiscal year 2024. Of these, 32.7% had a criminal record, and 237 were known to be terrorists or terrorist suspects.
This is a significant increase from more than 142,000 people in fiscal 2023 and approximately 72,000 in fiscal 2022. In fiscal 2020, the last year of the Trump administration and coinciding with the coronavirus pandemic, approximately 185,000 people were deported, compared to approximately 72,000 in fiscal 2019. 267,000 people were deported.
Fox News' Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
