Mullin Says Caravan Won't Enter U.S. as Sheinbaum Pushes Back

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Thursday that a migrant caravan moving through southern Mexico “will NOT be allowed to enter our country,” as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pushed back on President Donald Trump’s threat to double tariffs on Mexico over the group.

“Our mission at the Department of Homeland Security is to protect our homeland. That begins at our borders. We will utilize all assets to make sure our borders are secure,” Mullin wrote in a post on X. “This illegal migrant caravan will NOT be allowed to enter our country. Full stop.”

Our mission at the Department of Homeland Security is to protect our homeland. That begins at our borders. We will utilize all assets to make sure our borders are secure.

This illegal migrant caravan will NOT be allowed to enter our country. Full stop. https://t.co/sSiAdwE5Ob

— Secretary Markwayne Mullin (@SecMullinDHS) November 12, 2026

Trump’s tariff warning

Mullin’s post came after Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday morning that “Huge CARAVANS are forming and beginning their illegal march through Mexico,” according to Fox News. “MEXICO MUST STOP THEM, NOW, and if they do not do so, the Tariffs on Mexico will be IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED,” Trump wrote, Fox News reported.

A Chiapas state government source told Reuters that about 1,500 people, including families with small children, left the southern Mexican city of Tapachula near the Guatemalan border on Tuesday, according to The Hill. Many of the migrants, who are mostly from Central America, told Reuters and other outlets that Democratic wins in last week’s midterm elections could open new opportunities for them in the United States, The Hill reported.

Sheinbaum: no caravan has reached the border

Sheinbaum said at her daily news briefing Thursday that “not a single migrant caravan has reached the north” since Trump returned to office in January 2025, according to The Times of India.

“We tell the people in the caravan that it is very difficult to cross into the United States, that if their goal is to reach the United States, then they won’t be able to do it because that is not possible,” Sheinbaum said, according to El Cronista. She said Mexico offers alternatives to those who want to return to their countries of origin or remain in Mexico under certain conditions, the outlet reported.

Sheinbaum said a separate group of about 600 migrants moving through the southern state of Chiapas had largely dispersed after being told that reaching the United States would be “very difficult,” according to The Times of India. Mexican authorities are also in talks with several hundred Honduran migrants and are encouraging them to return home, she said, the outlet reported.

The Mexican president ruled out using force to break up the groups, according to The Times of India. She said the National Migration Institute and the National Guard would act “not as a repressive or violent action, but as support to be able to inform the people who are coming with the caravan,” El Cronista reported.

Trade talks in the background

The tariff threat comes as Washington and Mexico City continue negotiations over duties on Mexican products alongside a review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that began in July, according to The Times of India. Mexico is seeking substantial cuts to the 10% tariffs on goods not covered by the trade agreement and the 25% duties on medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and the talks also cover 50% U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, the outlet reported.

Trump did not give Mexico a timeline to act, according to Bloomberg Law, which reported that it was not immediately clear what legal authority he had to double the levies.

Sources

• DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin on X
• The Times of India
• El Cronista
• Fox News
• The Hill
• Bloomberg Law

Reporting by Daily Beltway.