AIFA train inauguration and possible papal visit: April 17 mañanera

• 🎙️ Today’s mañanera was led by Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez, standing in for President Sheinbaum.

• 🚆 CDMX–AIFA train line: The long-awaited suburban rail link to Felipe Ángeles International Airport is tentatively set to open the weekend of April 25–26, pending final confirmation from President Sheinbaum.

• 🇲🇽 200,000+ repatriations since Jan. 20: Rodríguez reported 203,685 returns to Mexico in Trump’s second presidential term, with over 80% arriving by land. Returnees have been supported by the México te abraza program. Deportations to Mexico in 2025 were below the annual figures recorded under Biden.

• ✝️ Papal visit still unconfirmed: Asked about a visit from Pope Leo XIV, Rodríguez said the government has received information from the Vatican but nothing official. Mexico has the world’s second-largest Catholic population after Brazil.

Why today’s mañanera matters

Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez stepped in for President Sheinbaum, who was traveling to Spain to attend a meeting in Barcelona this Saturday.

Today’s mañanera was significant as Rodríguez gave an updated timeframe for the opening of the train line to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) and provided the latest data on repatriations to Mexico from the United States.

The Friday morning press conference also served as a reminder that women are at the apex of political power in Mexico. The federal interior minister is usually considered to be the second most powerful person in the Mexican government. Rodríguez is the third woman to serve in the role, after Olga Sánchez Cordero and Luisa María Alcalde, both of whom held the position during the 2018-2024 presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Opening of train line to AIFA ‘tentatively’ set for next weekend 

Rodríguez told reporters that the opening of the long-awaited train line between the Buenavista station in central Mexico City and (AIFA) in México state is “tentatively” set for the weekend of April 25 and 26.

She said that Andrés Lajous, head of the Railway Transport Regulatory Agency, has said that the railroad will open next weekend. However, Rodríguez stressed that the date is pending confirmation from Sheinbaum.

She said that the train line — an extension of the Mexico City suburban railroad — is ready to open “shortly.”

Sheinbaum said in February that the railroad would begin operations “before Holy Week,” but that target was missed.

AIFA is located about 50 kilometers north of central Mexico City in the México state municipality of Zumpango. The federal government hopes that the opening of the train line  will lead to an increase in passenger numbers at the airport. The trip from Buenavista to AIFA will take around 40 minutes.

More than 200,000 repatriations since Trump returned to office

Rodríguez reported that there have been 203,685 “repatriations” to Mexico since Jan. 20, 2025, the day U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term.

Over 80% of those repatriations — 164,444 — were completed by land, with deportees and voluntary returnees crossing the Mexico-U.S. border. The remainder of the repatriations — 39,241 — were completed by air.

Rodríguez noted that the federal government has assisted returnees with the México te abraza (Mexico embraces you) program, which was unveiled the same day that Trump returned to the White House.

The program — which offers financial assistance, temporary accommodation and transport to returnees, and ensures that they can access services in Mexico — “came out of the mind and heart of the President Claudia Sheinbaum,” she said.

The program was developed after Trump pledged to carry out “the largest deportation operation in American history.”

However, deportations to Mexico in 2025 were in fact lower than the numbers recorded in each of the years of the Biden administration.

Will the pope visit Mexico this year?

Almost a year after she attended the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV and invited the pontiff to come to Mexico, Rodríguez was asked whether the government had received any information from the Vatican about the “probable date” of a papal visit.

“We have had information, but it’s not official,” the interior minister said.

Rodríguez said that the government was hopeful that Pope Leo would come to Mexico, but stressed that it will be up to the Vatican to announce any visit.

Mexico has the world’s second-largest population of Catholics after Brazil.

Pope Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, became pontiff last May after the death of Pope Francis in April 2025.