Mexico is sending 6,000 troops to secure its border ahead of Trump’s tariff deadline

Mexico intends to send 6,000 National Guard troops to its southern border to head off the threat of U.S. tariffs over its lax border policies.

Despite Mexico’s intent to beef up border security, the White House is still planning to enact a 5% tariff on about $350 billion worth of goods flowing from Mexico into the U.S. on June 10. Tariffs will increase by 5% each month up to 25% in October.

“Our position hasn’t changed. The tariffs will move forward and go into effect on Monday,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Friday.

If negotiations are not settled before the weekend, the White House will issue a notice Friday of the tariffs expected Monday.

“There’s a legal notification that goes forward today with a plan to implement [Mexico] tariffs on Monday, but I think there is the ability — if negotiations continue to go well — that the president can turn that off at some point over the weekend,” Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, said Friday.

Mexican officials traveled to Washington, D.C., to negotiate with the White House on Wednesday. After the day’s talks ended, Trump said that, although Mexico was meeting some demands of the U.S., more progress is necessary to stave off tariffs.

“Progress is being made, but not nearly enough! Border arrests for May are at 133,000 because of Mexico & the Democrats in Congress refusing to budge on immigration reform,” Trump tweeted.

The U.S.-Mexico border is in a “full-blown emergency,” according to a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official. The CBP is arresting illegal migrants crossing the border at levels not seen in over 13 years. The CBP recently announced that 133,000 illegal immigrants were arrested in May.