President Trump threatened to double tariffs on Mexico over a migrant caravan heading north, and Mexico’s president says that caravan has nearly fallen apart.
Story Snapshot
- Trump threatened to double tariffs on Mexico unless it stops a migrant caravan from reaching the U.S. border.
- About 1,500 migrants left southern Mexico on November 10, 2026, heading north.
- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says that caravan shrank from roughly 600 people to fewer than 100.
- Sheinbaum says no caravan has reached the U.S. border since Trump returned to office in January 2025.
- The White House has not said which tariffs would double or when they would take effect.
Trump’s Tariff Ultimatum
President Trump posted a warning on Truth Social on November 12, 2026. He said migrants “will not be accepted” and demanded Mexico stop them immediately. If Mexico failed to act, he said, tariffs on Mexican goods would be “IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED.” The post came as reports surfaced of a large group of migrants moving north through Mexican territory toward the United States.
Trump did not name which tariff schedules would change, when the increase would start, or whether current exemptions would survive. Trade reporters noted the legal path for doubling tariffs is unclear after a Supreme Court ruling limited presidential tariff power earlier this year. That gap leaves the threat legally undefined, even as it dominates headlines.
A Caravan on the Move
Reuters reported that roughly 1,500 mostly Central American migrants left Tapachula, near Mexico’s border with Guatemala, on November 10. Other outlets put the number between 1,000 and 2,000, walking on foot toward Mexico City. The uncertain headcount makes it hard to pin down exactly how large the group really was at its peak.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection data show southwest border apprehensions ranged from about 6,000 to 10,000 per month in 2026, including 8,936 in September. Those totals do not identify whether any of this caravan’s members reached the border, so the numbers describe a broader migration pattern rather than this specific group.
Mexico Says the Group Is Falling Apart
Sheinbaum pushed back directly. She said a caravan of about 600 migrants traveling through Chiapas had largely broken up after members were told reaching the United States “would be very difficult.” She said that group had fallen to fewer than 100 people thanks to outreach from Mexican authorities, and that officials were urging a separate group of Honduran migrants to go home.
Sheinbaum went further, saying no caravan has reached Mexico’s northern border since Trump returned to office in January 2025. She said one caravan dissolved on its own while traveling and most members already went back to their home countries, while another was only just forming. She added that 24 caravans have broken apart overall after migrants learned there was no clear path across the border.
President Trump is threatening to DOUBLE tariffs on Mexico unless it stops a migrant caravan of about 1,500 people heading toward the U.S. southern border.
Migrants in the caravan say they believe Democrats’ midterm wins will ease Trump-era border restrictions.
Border Czar Tom… pic.twitter.com/bdM7WC9THu
— Jack Bradley (@jackgbradley) November 13, 2026
This standoff echoes a 2019 episode, when Trump threatened tariffs on Mexico over migration and Mexico responded by ramping up enforcement, leading Washington to drop the threat once it judged Mexican cooperation sufficient. Researchers who study these caravans describe them less as organized invasions and more as informal groups seeking safety in numbers, often dispersing once members learn how hard the crossing has become. Whether this round ends the same way remains unsettled, but the pattern of threat, enforcement, and dispersal looks familiar.
Sources:
youtube.com, reuters.com, ttnews.com, cbp.gov, finance.yahoo.com
