Mexico plans alert app for migrants facing US arrest

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Mexico will launch a mobile application with a warning button for migrants facing imminent detention in the United States, the government said Friday, following President-elect Donald Trump’s threats of mass deportations.

“If you are facing an imminent arrest, you press an alarm button that sends a signal to the nearest consulate,” Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said at a news conference.

The app, which is expected to be ready in January, will also notify the person’s family and the Mexican Foreign Ministry, he added.

There were an estimated four million unauthorized Mexican immigrants in the United States by 2022, according to the US-based Pew Research Center.

Mexico has dozens of consulates throughout the neighboring country.

The Mexican government has been in talks with other countries, including Guatemala and Honduras, about their own contingency plans for possible mass deportations after Trump takes office on Jan. 20, according to De la Fuente.

He said there would be a ministerial-level meeting between countries that are sources of migrants later to discuss the issue.

Trump has vowed to declare a national emergency at the border with Mexico and deport millions who lack residency papers, calling the arrival of migrants an “invasion.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said her government is preparing a document highlighting the contribution of Mexican workers to the US economy.