With a pin stuck in the tariff war phase of the negotiation, the question now shifts to follow-through by the Mexican government. 

The Mexican tariff standoff is enjoying a reprieve after the nation’s President announced that a deal was made to pause the tariffs for 30 days. 

The White House announced the previous Saturday that tariffs would be go into effect for both Mexico and Canada at a rate of 25% as well as a 10% tariff on Chinese imports.  

The issues cited by the Trump administration reflect his campaign’s emphasis on the fentanyl crisis, illegal immigration, and drug trafficking. 

On the “X” social media platform Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said, "We had a good conversation with President Trump with great respect for our relationship and sovereignty” and committed to deploying 10,000 Mexican troops to Mexico’s northern border adjoining the United States. 

A further concern is whether Mexico’s earnest efforts to keep up their end of the bargain could be corrupted by cartel-loyal troops. 

According to National Border Patrol Council Vice President Art Del Cueto, not all Mexican troops may be committed to protecting the border, rather, serving as security for Mexican cartels. Del Cueto told the “Furthermore with Amanda Head” podcast on Monday: “my worry is, what are they going to do while they're out here? Because for the longest time, sometimes we've seen the Mexican military, and I hate to say it this way, or people that are dressed like the Mexican military, you get these copycats that actually start protecting the drug loads coming through to the southern border. So we want to make sure that we know it is actually them and it's not some of these copycats that are getting involved.” 

This assertion was reinforced by Real America’s Voice National Correspondent and host of “Law and Border” TV show Ben Bergquam. Reacting specifically to the notion that Mexican military acts on behalf of the cartel, Bergquam said, “you have enough of the guys on the take, yeah, that you know you've strategically placed them in the right places…you’ve got the official guys doing it for you.”

Almost immediately upon taking office, President Trump and border czar Tom Homan began the deportation process starting with a “worst first” method. The focus has been on deporting illegal aliens who have committed crimes subsequent to the crime of crossing the border and in most cases, violent crimes like assault, rape, and murder. 

The “worst first” policy has not been without opposition. California Attorney General Rob Bonta told ABC News, "there will be pain and harm inflicted by him. It is not all avoidable, but to get to our immigrant communities in ways that are in violation of the law, they're going to have to go through me, and we will stop them in courts using our legal tools given to us." 

Multiple news outlets also pushed fear-inducing headlines citing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in schools. In one particular instance, it was reported that ICE had performed a raid in Chicago’s Hamline Elementary School. The school’s principal Natasha Ortega said, “we will not open our doors for ICE, and we are here to protect our children and make sure they have access to an excellent education.” It was later revealed that the agents were not deployed by ICE; rather, they were Secret Service agents investigating a protectee in connection with the social media platform TikTok. 

Democrats have also vocalized concerns that these deportations may inadvertently catch nonviolent illegal aliens in their net. “If you’re not out looking for criminals based on crimes committed, but undocumented immigrants based on their looks, you’re going to sweep up a lot of innocent people, including innocent citizens,” House Democrat Jamie Raskin said in a statement to NBC News. “We’ve already seen cases of racial and ethnic profiling leading to the unlawful detention of U.S. citizens. That’s why I’m demanding answers about some of these profoundly troubling stories we’ve heard about citizens being targeted, detained and questioned.” 

However, on Wednesday during a press briefing from the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that less than 6% of those detained by ice were falsely detained. Of over 8000 arrested, 461 have been released from custody due to various reasons. This, after she also reported on “X” on January 23, 2025 that “the trump administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals, including a suspected terrorist, four members of the trending Aragua gang, and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors.”

Furthermore, a future concern is that these criminal aliens might reappear on U.S. soil. Speaking on the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show Tuesday night, Congressman Tim Burchett said, “what worries me about some of those dirt bags that we deport is somehow they might by hook or crook, might get back in the country. If they mess with a child or a lady or anybody in a in a physical manner…again, kids might be watching…I think we ought to send them home in a box.” 

In many high-profile stories like the NYC subway burning suspect, they were deported and then re-entered the country, in some instances multiple times.