Mexico launching app for migrants in US, vows to defend citizens facing deportation

Mexico is developing an app that will allow migrants in the U.S. facing deportation to alert their family members and local U.S. consulates if they are about to be detained by authorities, a senior official said Friday. He added that his government plans to ensure that each Mexican citizen is given due process in the U.S. before being potentially ejected from the country. 

The app, called "Alert Button," is being designed in anticipation of the mass deportations of illegal migrants expected to occur after President-elect Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20. A cornerstone of Trump’s second term in office is to secure the border and carry out the largest mass deportation program the U.S. has ever seen.

Many Mexican nationals who are in the U.S. illegally will likely be targeted by the new Trump administration. The Mexican government estimates there are 11.5 million migrants with some form of legal residency in the United States and 4.8 million without legal residency or proper documents. 

Migrants near the Rio Grande along the US-Mexico border in Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on Dec. 18, 2024, left. A migrant checks his phone, right. (David Peinado/Bloomberg, left, Luis Boza/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images, right.)

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The new app, which is expected to be available in January, will allow users to press a tab to send an alert notification to previously chosen relatives and the nearest Mexican consulate, of which there are 53 in the U.S.

"In case you find yourself in a situation where detention is imminent, you push the alert button and that sends a signal to the nearest consulate," Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs Juan Ramón de la Fuente said.

He said it has already been rolled out for small-scale testing and "appears to be working very well." 

De la Fuente described it as a sort of panic button, adding that his office has beefed up its consular staff by hiring "329 legal representatives" to ensure that Mexicans facing deportation will be given due process and are properly informed of their rights before potential removal. 

President-elect Trump has vowed to secure the border and carry out the largest mass deportation program the U.S. has ever seen. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

U.S. authorities are obliged to notify home-country consulates when a foreign citizen is detained. Mexico says it has beefed up consular staff and legal aid to help migrants in the legal process related to deportation. 

The government says it has also set up a call center staffed 24 hours a day to answer migrants’ questions and help educate them on their rights ahead of "possible arrests or other intimidating actions."

De la Fuente, in a statement, said that the Mexican government will defend the human rights of its citizens in the U.S. in strict compliance with international law.

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"We want to tell our fellow countrymen that they are not alone and they will not be alone," he said, reiterating that there is a consular network that is up to the task.

The foreign minister said that in order to deport someone from the U.S. a court order or removal ruling is needed and that his consular team will be "very vigilant in ensuring that due process is followed."

Trump has already clashed with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum over immigration and proposed 25% tariff on imported goods from Mexico over the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs. Sheinbaum said that such a move could lead to a trade war between the countries and insisted her government has already been clamping down on migrants crossing into the U.S.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addresses supporters in Mexico City on Oct. 1. She has clashed with President-elect Trump on immigration. (AP/Fernando Llano)

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The U.S. recorded an unprecedented number of illegal migrants flowing across its borders under the Biden-Harris administration. The number of illegal immigrants on ICE's non-detained docket exploded to nearly 7.7 million, more than double what it was when Trump left office. It was at 3.2 million at the end of FY 2020.

The annual ICE report released in October shows that ICE deported 271,484 illegal immigrants to 192 different countries in fiscal year 2024. Of those, 32.7% had criminal histories and 237 were known or suspected terrorists.

It’s a significant increase from more than 142,000 deported in FY 23, and around 72,000 in FY 2022. In FY 2020, the last year of the Trump administration and which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, there were around 185,000 deportations and in FY 2019 there were 267,000 deportations. 

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and the Associated Press contributed to this report.