Mexico is developing an app that would allow migrants in the United States facing deportation to alert their family members and local U.S. consulates if they are about to be arrested by authorities, a senior official said Friday. He added that his government plans to ensure that every Mexican citizen receives due process in the United States before possible expulsion from the country.
The app, called “Alert Button,” was designed in anticipation of the mass deportations of illegal immigrants expected to occur after President-elect Trump is sworn in on January 20. border and implementing the largest mass deportation program the United States has ever seen.
Many Mexican citizens who are in the United States illegally will likely 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 near the Rio Grande River along the US-Mexico border in Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico on December 18, 2024. A migrant checks his phone, right. (David Peinado/Bloomberg, left, Luis Boza/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images, right.)
A new report reveals a huge number of illegal immigrants benefiting from the Biden-Harris administration’s “quiet amnesty.”
The new app, which is expected to be available in January, will allow users to press a tab to send an alert notification to pre-selected relatives and the nearest Mexican consulate, of which there are 53 in the United States.
Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said: “If you find yourself in a situation where detention is imminent, you should press the alert button, and this sends a signal to the nearest consulate.”
It has already been rolled out for small-scale testing and “seems to be working very well,” he said.
De la Fuente called it a kind of panic button, adding that his office has bolstered its consular staff by appointing “329 legal representatives” to ensure Mexicans facing deportation receive due process and are properly informed of their rights before potential deportation. .
President-elect Trump pledged to secure the border and implement the largest mass deportation program the United States has ever seen. (AP Photo/Rick Scottri)
US authorities are obligated to notify the consulates of their country of origin when a foreign citizen is detained, and Mexico says its consular staff will provide legal assistance to assist immigrants in legal procedures related to deportation.
The government says it has also set up a 24-hour-a-day call center to answer migrants’ questions and help educate them about their rights before “possible arrests or other intimidation measures.”
De la Fuente said in a statement that the Mexican government will defend the human rights of its citizens in the United States while strictly adhering to international law.
The Biden administration is facing scrutiny over its response to a “significant rise” in assaults on Border Patrol agents
“We want to tell our citizens that they are not alone and will not be alone,” he said, reiterating that there is a consular network capable of performing this task.
The Secretary of State said that in order to remove someone from the United States, a court order or ruling of removal is needed, and that his consular team will be “extremely vigilant to ensure due process is followed.”
Trump has already clashed with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum over immigration and has proposed imposing a 25% tariff on goods imported from Mexico due to the influx of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs. Sheinbaum said such a move could lead to a trade war between the two countries, and insisted that her government had already cracked down on migrants crossing into the United States.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addresses supporters in Mexico City on October 1. She has 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 streaming across its borders under the Biden-Harris administration. The number of illegal immigrants on ICE’s not-detained list has risen to nearly 7.7 million, more than double what it was when Trump left office. It reached 3.2 million by the end of fiscal year 2020.
ICE’s annual report released in October shows that ICE deported 271,484 illegal immigrants to 192 different countries in fiscal year 2024. Of those, 32.7% had a criminal history and 237 were known or suspected terrorists.
It’s a significant increase from the more than 142,000 deported in FY23, and about 72,000 in FY2022. In FY2020, the final year of the Trump administration that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, there were about 185,000 deportations and in FY19 there were 267,000 migrations.
Adam Shaw of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
