President Donald Trump has threatened to immediately double tariffs on Mexico unless it stops a migrant caravan heading towards the US, adding pressure to ongoing bilateral trade negotiations over auto production and existing Section 232 tariffs.
US President Donald Trump, on 12 November 2026, threatened to double tariffs on Mexico unless it stops about 1,500 migrants walking north toward the US.
In a social media post, he said the migrants would not be accepted. He told Mexico to stop them immediately or face the higher tariffs right away.
“Huge CARAVANS are forming and beginning their illegal march through Mexico. Many of the people in these Caravans are those that various countries don’t want – “Send them to America,” they say – But 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 posted on Truth Social.
The group, mostly from Central America, left the southern city of Tapachula near the Guatemalan border on 10 November 2026. Its members hope that Democrats, who won control of Congress in the 3 November 2026 midterm election, will open a path for them to live and work in the US when the new session begins in January 2027.
Mexico says the caravan will be turned back
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that the group was heading north. She said no migrant caravan had reached the US border since Trump returned to power in 2025. Her government has told the migrants how hard it is to enter the US and it plans to send them back to their home countries. She also promised there would be no repression.
US officials and trade talks
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the government would use every available resource to secure the border. He said the caravan would not be allowed into the country.
The two countries are also negotiating a new trade agreement. Trump chose in July 2026 not to extend the US, Mexico and Canada Agreement, known as USMCA.
Mexico is seeking reductions in US Section 232 tariffs on autos, steel, and aluminium, while Washington wants Mexico to propose alternatives to increase auto production in the US and reduce the US trade deficit.
