Many Mexicans who spoke to daily callers expressed support for the increased border security the country introduced after the Trump tariff threat.
Following a demand from President Donald Trump to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigration at the Mexican president Claudia Shainbaum Greenlight Northern border, the Northern Border President mobilized 10,000 National Guard troops at the border.
Of these forces, 3,000 were sent to the Baja California border states, home to Tijuana, the state’s largest city, adjacent to San Diego.
The National Guard has established many additional checkpoints, including those found in the border town of Tecate.
The National Guard coordinated a new checkpoint, located roughly halfway between Tijuana and Mexicali, the state’s second largest city, to search for drug and traffickers. The main highway passing through the checkpoint is a major route for cartel members and smugglers, security guards told callers.
Mexican national security guards have established a drug and smuggler checkpoint in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico. 2/28/25. Robert McGreevey/Daily Caller
“It’s fine,” Mexicali resident Isaac told the caller.
He explained that he has traveled the route every day for over 20 years, but had only been stopped there before.
Another resident, Robert Valencia of Mexicali, thought the stop was positive.
“There’s no problem. There’s nothing to hide,” Valencia told the caller. “I think it’s safe for the rest of us.”
Mexican citizens are widely supportive of the new border measures taken by the government.
Robert Valencia and Daniel Rodriguez (with the sickest homemade Yankees hat I’ve ever seen) told me they support an increase in National Guard checkpoints. @dailycaller pic.twitter.com/bftjnzw494—
– rob (@robmcgravytrain) March 1, 2025
He also explained that he felt the National Guard troops were good people, and pointed out that after he lighted his tail, he dropped him down with a warning at the checkpoint. (Related: “President Trump does a great job with immigration,” Mexico’s Hector Zimenez Baez said in a rare interview.
“I think they’re honest,” he said.
Daniel Rodriguez, a dual citizen of the US and Mexico, also said that increased security made him feel safer.
He considered them necessary “for violence, for drugs.”
When asked if his fellow citizens liked checks, he said, “Yeah, sometimes.”
Even some citizens who were not necessarily enthusiastic were mostly vague. “That’s a bit strange, but it’s fine,” the driver named Quinsela told the caller at another checkpoint near the coast. But she also noted that she was used to it.
One couple has expressed a bit of disappointment over the increased waiting time to return to San Diego from Tijuana.
“There’s a day of shitting every day for Trump,” the woman who refused to share her name told the daily caller.
However, she shared that she was not from Mexico and moved there after living in San Diego.
One couple of couples who moved here from San Diego and frequently returned to watch their daughter play basketball at their local college, said “Trump happens every day.”
– rob (@robmcgravytrain) February 28, 2025
