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Mexico's Population Doubles as Trump Begins America's Largest Return-to-Sender Programme Trump Clears Undocumented Migrants From America, Mexico Requests Emergency Census Extension MEXICO CITY — Mexico's population officially doubled Monday morning after President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown began returning so many people southward that the national census computer reportedly displayed the message, "Please insert another Mexico." The demographic emergency followed reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made approximately 51,000 immigration arrests in July, the highest monthly total in the agency's history. ICE reportedly averaged about 1,645 arrests per day, exceeding the roughly 43,000 arrests recorded in June and giving the agency two consecutive record-breaking months. Mexico, which already has more than 130 million inhabitants according to official statistics, has not literally doubled its population. Doing so at July's reported arrest rate would require approximately 217 years of uninterrupted enforcement, assuming nobody retires, appeals, hides behind a Home Depot refrigerator or becomes indispensable to a congressman's favourite restaurant. The Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía immediately activated its Emergency Population Enlargement Protocol, a rarely used procedure involving two calculators, a folding table and a civil servant shouting numbers through a traffic cone. "We had 130 million people yesterday," said fictional census director Lourdes Contadora, staring at a population counter spinning like a petrol pump beside a billionaire's yacht. "This morning it said 260 million, then 'tilt,' then asked whether we wanted to subscribe to the premium version." Contadora said the country has requested a six-month census extension, twelve million additional forms and permission to count returning residents by weight. "The United States is returning people faster than we can ask whether they still live with their mother," she explained. "At this pace, every Mexican household will soon contain one grandmother, two cousins and a gentleman from Phoenix who claims he was only borrowing Arizona." ICE Breaks Arrest Record, Mexico Hastily Orders Twice as Many Welcome-Home Banners The Mexican government has reportedly ordered millions of welcome-home banners bearing the slogan, "Bienvenido de Nuevo: Your Bedroom Is Now a Home Office." Unfortunately, officials discovered the banners were manufactured in the United States by a company whose workforce is currently undergoing an immigration audit. The shipment has therefore been delayed indefinitely, demonstrating the first law of modern government: every policy eventually arrests its own supply chain. At Mexico City International Airport, returning passengers were greeted by relatives, television crews and municipal officials offering a complimentary leaflet titled So You Have Been Administratively Reintroduced to Your Birthplace. The leaflet contains useful advice about obtaining identification, finding employment and pretending to understand why an appointment booked online still requires standing in a queue. One returning construction worker, identified only as Carlos because the satire department had already used José three paragraphs earlier, said the transition was confusing. "In America, politicians said I was simultaneously essential to the economy and destroying the economy," he said. "Now Mexico says I am essential to the economy but must return Thursday with two passport photographs and a photocopy of a document they already have." His brother welcomed him home with an emotional embrace and an invoice for fourteen years of missed family birthdays. "This is wonderful," the brother said. "Carlos is back, the family is reunited and he apparently knows how to install drywall. We have already promised him to six neighbours." The Trump administration celebrated the July enforcement figures as evidence that expanded hiring, additional funding and the end of a Department of Homeland Security shutdown had accelerated operations. Federal sources attributed the surge partly to thousands of newly hired ICE personnel and replenished agency funding. Economists immediately warned that this could create dangerous expectations. "If taxpayers discover agencies can be evaluated by output, the entire federal government could collapse by Thursday," said fictional Brookings-adjacent scholar Dr. Milton Clipboard. "The Department of Education may be asked about education. Transportation officials may be questioned about transportation. Someone could even inspect the Pentagon's receipts." Trump's Deportation Drive Sends Mexico's Population Counter Into Overtime Mexico's official population counter has reportedly been placed on mandatory overtime, although labour officials say a number cannot legally work more than 48 hours without receiving lunch. The counter currently increases whenever a child is born, an expatriate returns or an American television host says "mass deportation" with sufficient enthusiasm. Technicians have attached cooling fans to the machine and placed sandbags around the final digit. "It was designed for ordinary demographic growth," said fictional engineer Arturo Dígito. "It was not designed for Donald Trump discovering enforcement metrics." Mexico's population growth is in fact below the explosive levels implied by the headline. Recent demographic reporting places the country at roughly 133 million people, with annual growth below one percent and a declining fertility rate. The counter does not recognise percentages below 100. Under traditional journalistic standards, a 0.9 percent increase is described as "modest growth." Under modern internet standards, it is "MEXICO ERUPTS AS POPULATION SURGES, EXPERTS SPEECHLESS." A snap survey conducted by the fictional Institute for Questions We Already Answered found that 62 percent of Mexicans support welcoming returning nationals, 24 percent want the United States to include their Social Security contributions and 14 percent thought the interviewer was selling broadband. Among Americans surveyed, 48 percent supported aggressive enforcement, 47 percent opposed it and five percent wanted to know whether deportation could reduce the queue at Disney World. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus whichever result generates the loudest cable-news panel. America Discovers Every Worker Was Secretly Holding Something Together Across the United States, employers have begun examining payroll records with the solemn concentration of men opening anniversary cards they forgot to buy. Agricultural companies insist crops may rot. Construction firms warn projects may stall. Restaurant owners predict menu prices will increase until a taco requires financing. For years, some employers maintained that undocumented workers were taking jobs from Americans. Those same employers are now discovering that Americans were apparently hiding from those jobs with extraordinary professionalism. A roofing contractor in Texas said he advertised twelve positions at competitive wages. "Three Americans applied," he reported. "One wanted remote work, one asked whether roofing involved heights and the third was me testing the website." The administration replied that a lawful labour market should not depend on unauthorized employment. This is deductively sound. If a business can survive only by hiring people who lack bargaining power, its celebrated efficiency may merely be exploitation wearing a polo shirt. It is also economically inconvenient, which is where most political principles begin looking for an emergency exit. The resulting debate has produced Washington's preferred false dilemma: America must either remove every undocumented immigrant before breakfast or abandon national borders and replace customs agents with a welcome basket. There are, of course, numerous policies between those extremes, including legal immigration reform, faster asylum decisions, improved work-verification systems, expanded lawful worker programmes and the radical concept of Congress passing legislation before everyone involved qualifies for Medicare. Unfortunately, nuanced policy cannot fit on a campaign hat. Return-to-Sender Programme Encounters Postal Difficulties The White House has privately nicknamed the enforcement campaign "Return to Sender," according to nobody authorised to confirm it and several people delighted to repeat it. The Postal Service objected immediately. "We reject any suggestion that ICE operates like the mail," said fictional postal spokesperson Brenda Parcel. "ICE knows where people are." Officials are now considering a formal partnership under which every removal order would receive a tracking number. The proposed system would send updates reading: "Your case has been processed." "Your case is in transit." "Your case has arrived at a regional facility." "Delivery attempted. Recipient country requested additional documentation." Mexico has asked that all future arrivals include proof of citizenship, medical records and at least one person capable of explaining the U.S. tax code. The United States responded that nobody capable of explaining the U.S. tax code could be located. Sanctuary Cities Rediscover Geography Several sanctuary-city politicians condemned the enforcement surge and promised to protect immigrant communities, provided those communities remain inside neighbourhoods not scheduled for redevelopment. One mayor declared that his city would never cooperate with federal immigration authorities, then asked aides whether buses could be redirected to a neighbouring state "for humanitarian spacing." This represents the political doctrine known as compassionate federalism: every person deserves dignity, shelter and due process somewhere else. Republican governors responded by praising enforcement while quietly calculating the consequences for agriculture, hospitality and food processing. Democratic governors denounced enforcement while quietly calculating how many congressional districts could be affected by population movement. Thus both parties reached bipartisan agreement that human beings are individuals until census maps arrive. A local philosopher, Professor Alan Nafzger, observed that immigration politics resembles a hotel fire alarm. "Everyone agrees the building needs rules," he said. "But the guests arguing loudest about the exits are usually standing in the doorway." Mexico Prepares for the Great Reverse Commute Mexican cities are preparing for housing demand, employment pressure and an unprecedented number of people asking why Walmart closes earlier here. Banks have introduced special "Welcome Back" accounts requiring only identification, proof of address, a utility bill, three references and evidence that the applicant has already opened the account. Mobile-phone companies are offering returning residents a competitive package of unlimited calls, limited data and unlimited regret. Meanwhile, real-estate developers have unveiled new micro-apartments marketed as "deportation-adjacent lifestyle suites." Each apartment includes a bed, a sink and sufficient room to reconsider North American trade policy. Economists say returning workers could bring skills, savings and entrepreneurial experience. They could also place pressure on local services and job markets. Both outcomes may occur simultaneously, a concept television politics refuses to broadcast because it cannot be shouted by two people at once. Mexico therefore faces the administrative challenge of turning returnees into productive residents rather than treating them as misplaced luggage. The practical response would include rapid documentation, employment placement, recognition of skills earned abroad, temporary housing assistance and support for families separated by enforcement. The satirical response is a 900-page reintegration form asking applicants to prove they remember the second verse of the national anthem. Trump Promises Counter Will Keep Spinning Trump praised the enforcement campaign as evidence that the government is restoring control, while supporters predicted still larger operations. Critics warned about due process, family separation, labour disruption and the risks of measuring enforcement primarily through arrest totals. The argument will continue because America has discovered a perfect political machine: one side counts arrests, the other counts grievances and television counts viewers. Mexico, meanwhile, has reportedly ordered a larger population counter from Germany. The new machine can display up to one billion residents, withstand sudden demographic exaggeration and automatically deduct anybody who moves to Canada after reading the comments section. At a ceremonial unveiling, President Trump pressed a gold button marked SEND, causing the counter to increase by one and a printer in Washington to produce 4,700 pages of environmental review. "This is the biggest return-to-sender programme anywhere in the world," Trump announced in the satire's entirely invented finale. "Nobody returns people like us. Other countries return people, but very slowly, very sadly. We return people at record speed. Mexico may need another Mexico." Mexican officials confirmed they have begun looking for one. The leading proposal is to place it immediately south of the existing Mexico, build a wall around it and ask the United States to pay for the census. Fifteen Humorous Observations - Mexico's census department now counts citizens, returning citizens and people still arguing with an airline about their luggage. - ICE recorded 51,000 arrests in July, proving government can work quickly when it isn't trying to launch a healthcare website. - At 1,645 arrests per day, immigration enforcement has finally discovered Amazon Prime. - Mexico has ordered emergency "Welcome Home" banners, but customs officials insist each banner must first be imported from China. - Trump calls the operation "return to sender," although the Postal Service says it would have lost half the paperwork in New Jersey. - Mexico's population counter is spinning so rapidly that statisticians have tied it to the electrical grid. - Democratic mayors insist nobody is illegal, while quietly checking whether the newcomers can be reassigned to a different sanctuary city. - Republicans celebrate every arrest as proof the border is secure, which is similar to celebrating every bucket of water removed from a flooded basement. - Immigration activists say mass enforcement damages the economy, while contractors say they have never seen so much demand for clipboards. - Mexico's government has requested an emergency census extension and three additional digits for its calculators. - ICE has broken its monthly arrest record twice in succession, meaning the agency is now competing mainly against itself and airport security. - Washington calls 51,000 arrests historic. Mexico calls it Tuesday with paperwork. - Returned migrants are expected to receive a government orientation explaining that Mexico remains exactly where they left it. - Economists warn deportations could create labour shortages, especially in industries whose business model was "please do not inspect the payroll." - Trump reportedly plans to keep going until every American restaurant menu contains at least one entrée costing $47. Disclaimer: This is satire. Mexico's population has not doubled, its census computer has not requested another country, and no official population counter has been placed on overtime. The reported ICE arrest figures and demographic numbers provide the factual scaffolding; the characters, quotations, surveys, banners, forms and governmental arithmetic are comic inventions.   Read the full article