Mexican government warns its citizens living in the US to ‘take precautions’ under Trump

The Mexican government is urging its citizens living in the U.S. to "take precautions" as they face a "new reality" under President Donald Trump.

The bold statement from the United States' southern neighbor follows the deportation of Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, an Arizona mother of two who came to the U.S. when she was 14, according to the Washington Post.

Here's a little background about Garcia de Rayos from the Post:

About eight years ago, there was a knock on Guadalupe García de Rayos’s door. Authorities had come to arrest the undocumented mother of two U.S.-born children, a Mexican native who had lived north of the border since she was 14.

The Phoenix mother was detained for months and eventually ordered to be sent back to Mexico. But for the subsequent years, after she appealed her voluntary deportation, García de Rayos was allowed to remain in the United States, as long as she checked in once a year, and then every six months.

Each year, she did so, and each year, immigration officials let her stay.

Under the new Trump administration, and the executive order the president signed on Jan. 25, which significantly expands the government's priorities regarding deportation, Garcia de Rayos was taken into custody this week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement when she went in for her routine check-in.

ICE confirmed to the Post on Thursday that the mother had been "removed" to Mexico that morning, shortly before 10 a.m. local time.

This led the Mexican government to issue the following statement:

The case of Mrs. Garcia de Rayos illustrates the new reality that the Mexican community faces in the United States due to the more severe application of immigration control measures.

For this reason, the entire Mexican community should take precautions and keep in touch with the nearest consulate, to obtain the necessary help to face this kind of situation.

Furthermore, Mexican authorities are advising nationals to "familiarize themselves with the different scenarios they may face and know where to go to receive updated guidance and know all their rights."

According to ABC News, former President Barack Obama deported more than 2.5 million people between 2009 and 2015. In fact, government data found that Obama's White House deported more people than any other administration in presidential history. However, the former president was known to be easier on people like Garcia de Rayos. In 2014, Obama's Department of Homeland Security issued a memorandum instructing border security to "prioritize threats to national security, public safety, and border security."

However, the weeks-old Trump administration is already taking a harder line on the matter. In his executive order, the president calls for the deportation of people in the U.S. illegally who "have been convicted of any criminal offense," "have been charged with any criminal offense," "have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense" or "are subject to a final order of removal."

Garcia de Rayos, CNN reported, was arrested in 2008 during a workplace raid and was convicted one year later of criminal impersonation — a felony charge in Arizona.

Randy Caps, director of research for U.S. programs at the Migration Policy Institute, told NPR, "Certainly the scope of [Trump's] executive order, if interpreted broadly, would be large enough to encompass most if not all of the unauthorized population."

Garcia de Rayos' children — son Angel and daughter Jacqueline — will remain with Aaron Reyes, the children's father, who is also illegally living in the U.S., according to the Guardian. It is not immediately clear why he was not deported.

Protesters as well as Garcia de Rayos' family gathered at the ICE headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday to protest her deportation.