As President Donald Trump rolls out his “America First” policies, few countries have more to lose than Mexico.

A sense of despair has engulfed the migrant camp of La Soledad, named after the colonial-era church that towers over the shantytown in downtown Mexico City. It was supposed to be a temporary stop, a place to regroup and wait for the right moment to continue on toward the United States.

We don’t think it’s going to happen really,” she said during her daily morning news conference on Wednesday, just days before Trump’s threatened tariffs might begin. “And if it happens, we also have our plan.

President Trump Friday signed an executive order reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which forbids using taxpayer money for coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization by NGOs.

This was the first time in recent memory that military aircraft were used to fly migrants out of the country, one U.S. official said.

In Mexico City, some migrants have built tent cities and slept on the streets. In a country long sympathetic to migrants, neighbors are protesting.

Trump, 78, issued a presidential memorandum reinstating the so-called Mexico City Policy, which prevents the federal government from funding groups that finance abortion procedures in foreign

Workers begin the installation of a temporary shelter for possible deportees from the United States, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez) Migrants eat at a shelter Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in the border city of ...

President Claudia Sheinbaum is detaining more migrants, seizing more fentanyl and positioning her country as a key ally against China. But the U.S. stance has shifted, too.

When the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy was enacted the first time around in 2019, Tijuana, Mexico, became a place of waiting. Migrant shelters were at capacity as asylum seekers from around the world settled in for the duration of their immigration court cases unfolding in the U.

Trump has vowed punishing tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, which are Texas’ biggest international trading partners.

Mexico is home to some of the world's biggest and most dynamic urban centers. From the bustling streets of its capital to rural areas, the largest cities in Mexico showcase distinct cultures and lifestyles.