Once again, President Donald Trump is proving he is getting the job done. The "Dealmaker in Chief " is putting on a master class in producing results that put Americans first – this time with Mexico.
The Floridian sources in the administration say that over the weekend, President Trump and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy finally brought the government of Mexico into compliance with the U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Agreement.
The Mexican government, which has violated the agreement since 2022, has agreed to return to the United States flight slots they had taken away, while adopting more competitive airport access policies for the United States. It’s a major win for U.S. air carriers and passengers who have been hurt by Mexico’s anti-competitive actions.
Restoring these flight slots and ensuring Mexico adheres to a long-standing diplomatic agreement is something President Joe Biden repeatedly failed to do. Rather than hold the government of Mexico accountable, Biden and former DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg sat back and refused to enforce any consequences.
But reaching this agreement with Mexico should come as no surprise from the man who brought us The Apprentice and The Art of the Deal. The forthcoming aviation agreement is the latest in a string of decisive victories for the American people – particularly as it pertains to our Southern neighbor.
President Trump has effectively shut down the Southern border, making it the most secure it’s ever been. Illegal migrant crossings have dropped to record-setting lows, stopping violent criminals, gang members and terrorists from entering our country. Data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shows that apprehensions at the border for the entire month of July was just 4,598 – 24 percent lower than the record set in June.
To put that number into perspective, the Biden Administration saw more than 5,000 illegal border crossings per day between February 2021 and December 2024.
Securing the border has stopped the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs that are killing thousands of Americans each year. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has seized hundreds of thousands of pounds of these drugs, stopping the cartels from trafficking them into our country and helping to keep our communities safe.
Border security ties directly to ongoing negotiations between President Trump and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, to reach a long-term trade deal. President Trump has demanded full cooperation from Mexico at the border, using tariffs to hold our Southern neighbor accountable and strengthen national security. At the end of July, President Trump extended negotiations another 90 days to strike a deal.
In the meantime, Mexico has agreed to remove “non-tariff trade barriers,” while it continues to pay a 25 percent “fentanyl tariff” on imported goods, including automobiles, and a 50 percent tariff on copper, aluminum and steel.
All of this comes as Florida’s former U.S. Senator and America’s current Secretary of State (SoS) and National Security Advisor, Marco Rubio, visits Mexico City aiming to address immigration and cracking down on the drug cartels just after the U.S. military struck a Venezuelan vessel in the Caribbean that American officials stated was carrying drugs.
President Trump was re-elected on the promise that the United States would no longer be taken advantage of, and in just the first few months of his second term, he’s delivering on that promise and the getting Mexico in compliance with the U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Agreement is more proof of it.
