Mexican authorities are developing a cell phone app that will allow nationals in the United States to quickly alert local Mexican consulates and family members if they are threatened with detainment.
The app, called Alert Button, is expected to become available in January, according to a Friday report from ABC News.
Users can simply press a button to inform consular officials and family if they believe that they are about to be detained by United States immigration officials.
A press release from the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the app will let nationals inform the “consulate closest to their location about situations of imminent detention, notify family members who have previously been selected, as well as report to the Foreign Affairs Secretary.”
The development comes as Mexico responds to the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump and his vows to launch mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
Juan Ramón de la Fuente, the Mexican secretary of foreign affairs, said that the app has been tested on a small scale and “appears to be working very well,” per a report from CNN.
“In case you find yourself in a situation where detention is imminent, you push the alert button, and that sends a signal to the nearest consulate,” he remarked.
United States immigration authorities are obligated to alert consulates when one of their citizens is detained. Mexico has therefore increased the number of consular and legal staff ahead of the possible mass deportations.
“The foreign affairs secretary was emphatic in pointing out that to deport someone from the United States you need a court order, a final sentence of deportation or removal, and that is where the consular team will be very aware that due process is complied with,” the release from the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued, per ABC.
Should this app be blocked in the United States?
Trump indeed vowed to implement mass deportations after four years of record illegal immigration under President Joe Biden.
The incoming commander-in-chief confirmed last month that he intends to declare a national emergency and leverage military assets to start the mass deportation program.
“It’s not a question of a price tag. It’s not — really, we have no choice,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News shortly after his election victory.
“When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here,” Trump continued.
“There is no price tag,” he repeated.
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