Trump’s deportation campaign begins: Day laborers arrested at work arrive back in Mexico

• Deported Day Laborers Arrive in Mexico
• Raids Begin in the U.S.
• Fear Grows Under Trump Administration

A group of deported individuals, reportedly detained in one of the first raids under the new Donald Trump administration, arrived in Tijuana late Tuesday, January 21.

Tijuana, situated at the westernmost point of the U.S.-Mexico border, became the destination for this group.

According to a man shouting from a distance to a small group of journalists present during their arrival, he and others were arrested while working as day laborers in Denver, Colorado.

Another migrant from a separate group mentioned they had been detained in Oregon but did not provide further details.

Day Laborers Detained During Raid

They mentioned that there were about 100 people in total, not only from Mexico but also from other countries.

The Associated Press witnessed the arrival of around 70 individuals.

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that deportations had taken place the day before, and without specifying, indicated that the numbers were lower than usual.

In 2024, according to official figures, more than 500 Mexicans were deported daily on average.

The deported day laborers who crossed through the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana began arriving in small groups after nightfall on Tuesday.

Some of the deportees were dressed in work clothes and carried orange bags with their belongings.

Mexican authorities at the site were preparing to transport them but declined to inform where they would be taken.

The president said that new reception centers are being set up at the border to receive Mexicans who are returned and that they will be ready in three or four days.

There will be nine facilities located in municipalities near the 11 official repatriation points across the six border states.

The president emphasized that formal talks have also begun with the new U.S. administration.

This was done through a call on Tuesday between Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“It was a very good, cordial conversation. Migration issues and security issues were discussed,” Sheinbaum said without providing further details.

In addition to the nine new centers, the federal government plans to use some already existing ones in Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, and Matamoros.

These centers, according to Ariadna Montiel, Secretary of Welfare, will also receive foreigners who had appointments to request asylum in the United States but whose appointments were canceled when Trump suspended the CBP One virtual application.

However, Sheinbaum has reiterated Mexico’s goal regarding foreigners.

Both those waiting for appointments and those returned under the reinstated «Remain in Mexico» program, which sends asylum seekers back to Mexico while they wait for their hearings in U.S. courts.

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