The Mexican government will launch a new "emergency mobile app" in January to help Mexican citizens who are targets of President-elect Trump's "mass deportation" plan. Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November and will take office on January 20, 2025, with a platform of imposing high tariffs and deporting undocumented immigrants.
Countries are responding to Trump's plan in different ways. For example, the Philippine ambassador to the United States warned undocumented Filipinos to return home just three days after the election. Mexico has gone a step further, launching an emergency notification app.
With this app, users can list family members who should be notified in the event of deportation, and it will send alerts to the user's nearest consulate and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since contact is more difficult after detention, the app is critical for keeping family members informed and receiving assistance from the Mexican government if needed.
Mexican Foreign Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente announced the new app. In addition to launching the app, he mentioned that Mexico is running a "Know Your Rights" program at its 53 U.S. consulates to provide assistance to Mexicans, especially those at risk of deportation. He said Mexicans should register with the consulate to receive better assistance if they need help, and 329 legal representatives were on standby.
According to the announcement, there are 38.4 million Mexicans in the United States, 11.5 million of whom are first-generation immigrants. Of these, 4.8 million are undocumented immigrants and 26.9 million are second generation or descendants. The report also cited U.S. data saying undocumented Mexicans paid $42.6 billion in taxes two years ago.