Latest news with #OperativoFronteraNorte
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Long wait times at Lukeville border crossing as Mexico steps up security checks
Travelers headed toward the popular beach destination of Puerto Peñasco, or Rocky Point, might see long wait times because of heightened security measures at the Lukeville Port of Entry. After Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum deployed 10,000 National Guardsmen to reinforce the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the 'Operativo Frontera Norte' mission, troops stationed across the border began inspecting more and more vehicles crossing in and out of Mexico. About 200 soldiers were sent to the border town of Sonoyta, part of a collective of 1,500 Guardsmen distributed across the state of Sonora. Sheinbaum agreed to reinforce the border with additional military personnel to postpone President Donald Trump's plans to impose duties on imports from Mexico. Those troops have been tasked with preventing drug-trafficking from Mexico to the United States by conducting a variety of security operations, including helping Mexican Customs officers at ports of entry. Several people have shared their experiences with the changes at the land border crossing online in a Facebook group centered around the Mexico beach destination. Some who have posted in "Rocky Point Friends" over the last few weeks said they waited for more than two hours to cross into Mexico. Others caution that wait times vary significantly, and that individual experiences depend on the time of day. The Arizona Republic reached out to several members of the group for this story, but did not get any responses. 'Sometimes you'll experience some of those larger lines, because the controlling processes in Mexico has been increased,' Rafael Barceló Durazo, the cónsul of Mexico in Tucson, told The Republic. 'But that's something I would say that's contingent on the time when you're crossing.' Durazo emphasized that the Mexican government has not changed its policies regulating American travelers in response to the Trump administration's threat of tariffs on Mexican goods. 'There's been fake news on social media saying that President Sheinbaum announced that the U.S. citizens should have a visa in order to get into Mexico as tourists. That is a blatant lie,' he said. The latest immigration numbers: Deportations; Border crossings; DACA; Visas and more All policies, including the rules around the "Forma Migratoria Múltiple," have remained the same, Durazo said. The operational hours for the Port of Entry in Lukeville recently were extended after Dr. Óscar Eduardo Castro Castro, mayor of Puerto Peñasco, reached an agreement with Peter Bachelier, U.S. Customs and Border Protection's director of the port of Lukeville. Beginning March 1 to Oct. 10, the land crossing will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays. Travelers crossing into Mexico have also been asked to present their "Forma Migratoria Múltiple," an immigration document colloquially called a "tourist card." 'It's just registering your entrance into Mexico," Durazo explained. 'It's a permit ... to prove that your passport was controlled when you got into Mexico." Visitors who plan to go further into Mexico than the border region and will be in the country for more than seven days should get the FMM, Durazo said. The Instituto Nacional de Migración is responsible for issuing the "Forma Migratoria Múltiple." To acquire the FMM, individuals must fill out an application online or at the border crossing's local INM, present a current passport, and pay a fee of 575 Mexican pesos, less than $30 in American currency as of the end of February 2025. Ruben Cordova Jr. operates Elite Tours and Transportation, a tour company based in Rocky Point. Cordova takes visitors across destinations along the Gulf of California and further into the interior of Mexico. At the beginning of February, Cordova took seven American tourists to the popular whale-watching town of Guerrero Negro in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. He encountered multiple military checkpoints on the way, including one where Mexican officials told him that his clients did not have an entry stamp into Mexico. "After talking to him for about 30 mins he basically told me that I was transporting illegals and that they can get deported, take my vehicle away, pay a hefty find and possibly go to jail," Cordova wrote in a Facebook post. Cordova now asks that all of his clients obtain proper documentation before going on any trips, he told The Republic. "I strongly suggest you get it just in case, because you just never know," Cordova said. Have any news tips or story ideas about the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona? Reach the reporter at rromeroruiz@ Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @raphaeldelag. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rocky Point travelers face long border waits amid increased security
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mexico has received nearly 11K deportees since Jan. 20
(NewsNation) — Since President Trump's inauguration, Mexico has received nearly 11,000 deportees — 8,425 of which are Mexican nationals, according to data from the Mexican government. Those numbers are part of the first results from Mexico's 'Operativo Frontera Norte,' or Northern Border Operation, which launched on Feb. 5 following an agreement between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Trump accelerates Guantánamo Bay migrant directive: What to know Since that agreement, Mexico has made 139 arrests, confiscated 82 firearms (28 were traced back to the U.S.) and seized nearly 1,000 kg of drugs. Roughly $90,775 pesos, or $4,400 USD, has also been seized. Despite these efforts, Trump made it clear in a pre-taped interview for Fox this weekend that he's not happy with Mexico and Canada's actions so far, saying: 'It's not good enough. Something has to happen. It's not sustainable. And I'm changing it.' Video shows man detained by ICE, judge says he 'feels bad' His 30-day pause on a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports was meant to give both countries time to act on border security and drug trafficking. Meanwhile, a U.S. official confirmed Friday that the Pentagon will deploy approximately 1,500 more active-duty soldiers to the southern border to support Trump's expanding immigration crackdown. This would bring the total number of active-duty troops at the border to around 3,600. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
05-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
1,500 Mexican National Guard arrive in Sonora to reinforce border with Arizona
1,500 Mexican National Guard arrive in Sonora to reinforce border with Arizona Show Caption Hide Caption 'American Border': Life at the US-Mexico border Reporter Raphael Romero Ruiz previews a newsletter covering life at the U.S.-Mexico border called "American Border" just before the new Trump admin. About 1,500 members of Mexico's National Guard have been deployed to Sonora's border with Arizona as part of Operativo Frontera Norte, which Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced would send 10,000 troops to the country's northern border. Inspector General Ricardo Rodríguez Alexander, commander of the fourth battalion of the Mexican National Guard and coordinator of operations in Sonora, spoke with reporters on the tarmac at Hermosillo International Airport, where more than one hundred Guardsmen arrived on Tuesday. 'There will be activities in urban areas, rural areas, customs houses and roads with the purpose of limiting the flow of drugs, especially fentanyl,' the inspector general said. 'Likewise, gun-trafficking and reducing the generators of violence and the flow of migration.' The Mexican National Guard members are distributed to several municipalities across Sonora along the border, Rodríguez Alexander said. Nogales and San Luis Río Colorado host the two most significant shares of Guard members, with about 400 soldiers stationed in each. Sonoyta, Agua Prieta, and Naco each house 200 Guard members, and 100 are deployed to Sasabe. Mexico also sent troops to other border cities, including Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez, and all border states. The deployment is part of an agreement postponing a 25% tariff imposed by President Donald Trump Saturday in an executive order. Sheinbaum agreed to reinforce the border with her soldiers, announcing in a post on X. that members of the Mexican National Guard would help "prevent drug trafficking to the United States." Trump has said that the tariffs are necessary 'to protect Americans' as he continues to pressure both Canada and Mexico to put more resources into curbing the export of fentanyl and reduce illegal immigration into the U.S. The president's executive order alleged that the Mexican government is in an 'intolerable alliance' with drug trafficking organizations, giving criminals 'safe havens' to manufacture drugs. 'We categorically reject the White House's slander that the Mexican government has alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention of meddling in our territory,' Sheinbaum wrote on social media. Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense, known as SEDENA, shared images and videos of troops boarding transport planes from army bases in Mexico City and scattered through the country's southeastern region. Sonora Gov. Alfonso Durazo Montaño told reporters that he would support the federal government's military deployment with Sonora's state police and that the state was preparing for large numbers of deportees. "We have worked on the infrastructure for the eventual increase in the return of migrants," said the governor, according to reporting by the Mexican outlet El Sol de Hermosillo. "The daily numbers on the return of migrants have not changed in their historical average." Have any news tips or story ideas about the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona? Reach the reporter at rromeroruiz@ Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @raphaeldelag.
USA Today
04-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Mexico deploys military troops to border in 'Operativo Frontera Norte'
Mexico launched a massive, attention-grabbing deployment of 10,000 military troops dubbed "Operativo Frontera Norte" to cities and towns on the border with the United States, including Juárez. US-Mexico border:US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth makes first visit to border in El Paso, Sunland Park The deployment includes an unspecified number of Mexican army soldiers and National Guard troops going to Juárez and the Chihuahua-state border towns of Ojinaga, across from Presidio, Texas, and Palomas, across from Columbus, New Mexico, reported La Verdad Juárez news site. Videos and photos posted on social media by Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense, known as SEDENA, showed military troops lined up boarding military transport planes and rows of army trucks rolling out in the predawn darkness Tuesday from army bases in Mexico City and other cities. The response — translated as "Operation Northern Border" — is part of an agreement reached Monday, Feb. 3, between U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum postponing trade tariff threats and counterthreats for a month that created uncertainty and economic rattles. Troops are also being sent to other border cities, including Tijuana, Mexicali, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros. Trump asked Mexico to do more to counter the smuggling of fentanyl and other drugs and illegal immigration to the United States. Mexico is calling on the U.S. to do more to stop the trafficking of firearms sold in the U.S. going to Mexico. "The fentanyl crisis in the United States, they obviously have to do their part in the United States," Sheinbaum said on Tuesday at her regular morning news conference in Mexico City, adding that the U.S., Canada and Mexico are all in the fight against organized crime. For decades, Mexico has regularly deployed and rotated its military forces on anti-crime and counter-drug missions to various hot spots across the country, including Juárez, with various levels of success. In 2021, Mexico, in an agreement with the Biden administration, sent 10,000 troops to its borders to reduce migration to the U.S. border, the Associated Press reported. Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@ and @BorundaDaniel on X.
