President Trump Is Confident Mexico Will ‘Try Very Hard’ to Enforce New Immigration Deal

President Donald Trump in the Rose Garden at the White House on May 22, 2019. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Donald Trump is optimistic about the new immigration deal reached between the United States and Mexico on June 7, saying that he believes Mexico would “try very hard” to enforce the agreement that could stem the flow of illegal immigrants coming into America.

“Mexico will try very hard, and if they do that, this will be a very successful agreement for both the United States and Mexico!” Trump said on early June 8.

Trump warned on May 30 that he will impose a 5 percent important tariff on all goods coming from Mexico if the country does not take action to tackle the influx of illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. Mexico subsequently sent a delegation, led by Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, to Washington to seek “an agreement for the benefit of the two nations.”

After three days of negotiations, the United States and Mexico reached an agreement that would see an expanded implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), commonly known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy and increased security at the southern border. The implementation of the tariffs against Mexico was subsequently suspended indefinitely.

“I am pleased to inform you that the United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico,” Trump wrote on Twitter late June 7.

“Mexico, in turn, has agreed to take strong measures to stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border,” he continued. “This is being done to greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States.”

In the deal, named as the “U.S.-Mexico Joint Declaration,” Mexico vowed to “take unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration” including the deployment of its National Guard. The country will also work toward dismantling “human smuggling and trafficking organizations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks.”

Moreover, Mexico will work with the United States to expand MPP across its entire southern border. The MPP, which was enacted on Jan. 24, forces asylum-seekers traveling north into the United States to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed.

The MPP was first trialed in at the San Ysidro border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, but has so far expanded to the points of entry in Calexico, California, and El Paso, Texas.

In return, the Trump administration said they were committed to working toward accelerating the processing of asylum claims as well as finalize removal proceedings as quickly as possible.

The president expressed gratitude toward Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and other representatives in a separate tweet on June 8.

“I would like to thank the President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and his foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, together with all of the many representatives of both the United States and Mexico, for working so long and hard to get our agreement on immigration completed!” he said.

Meanwhile, in another tweet, Trump said Mexico has begun buying large quantities of agricultural products from U.S. farmers but it is unclear whether this pledge is part of the June 7 deal.

“MEXICO HAS AGREED TO IMMEDIATELY BEGIN BUYING LARGE QUANTITIES OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT FROM OUR GREAT PATRIOT FARMERS!” he wrote.

Trump has made stopping illegal immigration a priority during his two years in office. Data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have shown record highs in the apprehension of illegal aliens at the southern border. U.S. border agents detained more than 132,000 people crossing from Mexico in May, the highest level since 2006.

Additionally, during the first seven months of the 2019 fiscal year, 531,711 illegal aliens have crossed the border into the United States, according to CBP data. 

Border officials have repeatedly warned that the immigration system at the border is overwhelmed and have called for immediate action from Congress.

In an official White House statement following his announcement of the 5 percent tariffs on Mexico, Trump explained the measure was needed because Mexico’s previous passive attitude toward the issue of illegal immigration was viewed as an “emergency and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States.”

“Mexico has very strong immigration laws and could easily halt the illegal flow of migrants, including by returning them to their home countries. Additionally, Mexico could quickly and easily stop illegal aliens from coming through its southern border with Guatemala,” Trump said in his statement.

Later in the statement, the president said: “Mexico has allowed this situation to go on for many years, growing only worse with the passage of time.”

“From a safety, national security, military, economic, and humanitarian standpoint, we cannot allow this grave disaster to continue,” he added.

“Mexico must step up and help solve this problem. We welcome people who come to the United States legally, but we cannot allow our laws to be broken and our borders to be violated. For years, Mexico has not treated us fairly—but we are now asserting our rights as a sovereign Nation.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Reuters on June 8 that the Trump administration believed the deal would “fix the immigration issue.”

He also warned that Trump retained the authority to impose tariffs if Mexico failed to enforce the new agreement.

Mimi Nguyen-Ly and Reuters contributed to this report.