More Than 8,000 Mexicans Were Deported in the First 2 Weeks of Trump's Second Term: Report

In the first two weeks of Donald Trump's second presidential term, the mass deportation plans implemented since his first day in office led to more than 8,000 deportations of Mexican nationals.

The number was announced by Mexico's National Institute of Migration (INM) on Feb. 6. While speaking at a press conference in a migrant center in the border city of Reynosa, INM Commissioner Francisco Garduño said that despite the deportations, the important thing is that "humanitarian policies" are put in place by the Mexican government to help migrants, which were planned by officials way before Trump's inauguration.

"A total of 8,119 Mexican nationals have been deported since Jan. 20," Garduño said. "While other 2,521 foreigners from other nationalities have also been deported by American officials during the same period," he added.

The number of deportations has continued at a steady pace. During Trump's first seven days in the White House, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reported that at least 4,000 Mexican nationals were deported by American officials.

Mexican Secretary of the Interior Rosa Icela Rodríguez also attended the press conference at the Reynosa migrant center, where she supervised the construction of 10 migrant shelters being installed by Mexican officials to house deportees.

During the event, Rodríguez highlighted that the majority of those being deported are "hardworking" Mexican nationals that "represent a sense of pride" for Mexico.

"The majority of the cases, 99.999% of the cases, are hardworking Mexicans," Rodríguez said. "By no means is the Mexican population in the U.S. full of criminals...there might be ones that have committed minor crimes or administrative offenses, but as of right now and based on the people that are being deported, they are not being sent back as criminals," she added.

Rodríguez mentioned that contrary to public belief, there is a protocol in place for deportees with criminal records. "Authorities in the security cabinet are informed about deportations so they can follow-up with American officials. One thing is migration and another one is tracing criminals," she said.