US urges Mexico to curb undocumented crossings at southern border

The administration of US President Donald Trump is demanding that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum implement additional measures against illegal crossings along the US border.

According to a Bloomberg report citing sources familiar with the matter, US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio conveyed this demand to Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco during a closed-door meeting in Washington on 26 August.

The Washington administration is demanding that Mexican authorities prevent their own citizens from attempting to cross the US border illegally.

Bloomberg noted that fulfilling this request could encounter constitutional and legal obstacles, as Mexico’s constitution guarantees its citizens freedom of movement across national territory.

US State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott stated that Rubio urged Mexico during the meeting to take decisive steps in combating migration, drug trafficking, and cartel operations.

The Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs has not yet issued a statement regarding the matter.

According to data cited by Bloomberg, US border patrol units detained more than 9,200 migrants in July. This figure represents the highest monthly tally recorded since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

The July figure was reported to have doubled compared to the same period of the previous year, yet it remained at approximately one-sixth of the level recorded in the final July of Joe Biden’s presidency.

Under Trump, who declared a state of emergency on the southern US border upon taking office in January 2025, illegal border crossings were recorded at 28,635 in February and 29,065 in March.

In the corresponding months of the preceding year, those figures stood at 256,071 and 246,505, respectively.

Following negotiations between Trump and Sheinbaum in February 2025, Mexico pledged to deploy 10,000 National Guard personnel to its northern border to counter drug shipments heading into the US.

Washington, in turn, suspended for one month the tariffs planned on goods of Mexican origin and pledged to work towards preventing illegal firearms shipments into Mexico.

Following Trump’s threats of launching ground operations against drug cartels in Mexico, Sheinbaum called in January 2026 for enhanced security coordination with Washington.

The Mexican leader had assigned then foreign minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente to hold talks with US Secretary of State Rubio.

Sheinbaum expressed that she considered a US invasion of her country unlikely and that Trump’s statements to that effect should not be taken seriously.