The Mexican government says it will resist efforts by the U.S. government to force better cooperation between the two nations to halt illegal immigrants coming into the U.S.

For far too long.  Mexico has facilitated the flow of illegals coming into the U.S. both from Mexico itself and other from Central American countries.  The Trump administration's new policies, announced by DHS secretary Kelly on Tuesday, would immediately return illegals caught at the border, making them wait for their hearing in U.S. immigration courts in Mexico rather than being released to melt away into the interior of the United States.

But while complaining about the new policies, Mexico appears to be preparing for the large influx of deportees.

Washington Times:

"I want to say clearly and emphatically that the government of Mexico and the Mexican people do not have to accept provisions that one government unilaterally wants to impose on the other," Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray told reporters in Mexico City, just ahead of meetings with Mr. Kelly and Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson.

"We will not accept it, because there's no reason why we should, and because it is not in the interests of Mexico," he said, according to the Reuters news agency.

Even as Mexican officials talked tough, they prepared for what could be a massive influx of Mexicans who are either kicked out of the country or flee the U.S.

The Social Development Ministry has for years had a program that organized Mexicans who lived and worked outside their country and helped the communities left behind. Officials said Wednesday that they would work on reforms to "Programa 3 x 1 para Migrantes," as it's known, to prepare for the return of many of those migrants.

Mexico used to account for the vast majority of illegal immigrants entering the U.S., but that has tapered off as the Mexican economy has improved and as American officials began to impose stiffer consequences on migrants, raising the risks associated with trying to sneak in.

Now, the bigger problem is a surge of non-Mexicans from the Western Hemisphere who enter Mexico then travel north to reach the U.S.

Mexico's role in facilitating their journey has long been a source of controversy between the two countries.

Last year, American officials pointed to a surge in Haitians, thousands of whom had been living in Brazil and Chile but started heading north, saying they were enticed by lax Obama administration policies.

Mexico was stopping the migrants at its southern border, then giving them temporary transit visas that lasted just long enough for them to make their way to the U.S. border, where they attempted to enter.

The White House insisted Wednesday that relations with Mexico remain strong.

"We have a very healthy and robust relationship with the Mexican government and Mexican officials. I think they would echo that same sentiment," press secretary Sean Spicer said. "I think the relationship with Mexico is phenomenal right now, and I think there's an unbelievable and robust dialogue between the two nations."

Since the average wait for a hearing before a U.S. immigration judge is close to two years, Mexico will have to care for thousands of stateless people, many of whom will not be Mexican citizens, for a considerable period of time.  Many illegals who only recently arrived in the U.S. could return to their families to await the disposition of their case.  But some illegals have been in the U.S. for many years, and it's an open question how the Mexican government is going to be able to feed and house the deportees.

It is hoped that many recent arrivals from Central America – especially unaccompanied children and families – will give up and return home.  But the governments of El Salvador and Guatemala have suggested they may stop returning immigrants at their border, not allowing them back in.  This would present another problem for Mexico along its southern border.

No one can guess how many illegals will stay in Mexico and fight for entry into the U.S.  What seems clear is that the relationship between the two countries is about to change dramatically.  The U.S. government is no longer going to tolerate Mexico's blatant attempts to push illegal immigrants across the southern border, making them America's problem.

What Mexico has sown these many years, it is about to reap.