Judges, mayors, activists and actors united in resistance
US LAWMAKERS MAY AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AS TRUMP SOFTENS DEMAND FOR BORDER WALL
exico’s foreign relations secretary called US President Donald Trump’s plan to build a border wall an “unfriendly, hostile” act, adding on Tuesday that it is a “bad idea” that will not accomplish anything.
Appearing before the international relations commission in the lower house of Congress, Videgaray unleashed uncharacteristically tough talk on Donald Trump’s demand that Mexico pay for building a border, telling lawmakers that Mexico would not put a peso towards the construction costs.
He also called plans for fencing off the frontier “an absolute waste of money” and said Mexico would pursue legal measures if its borders were infringed upon by the wall.
“The wall is not part of any bilateral discussion nor should it be,” Videgaray said. “Under no scenario will we contribute economically to an action of this kind.”
The foreign minister’s comments come as the US president, who has insisted Mexico will pay for his campaign promise of building a border wall, pressures Congress to fund construction in the meantime. Trump had demanded Congress provide immediate funding for a border wall — even raising the possibility of a government shutdown — but appeared to be backing down on Tuesday.
Analysts in Mexico saw Trump’s difficulties in persuading his own country’s Congress on key campaign promises as an opportunity for Mexican functionaries, who have preferred to not antagonise Trump, to take a tougher tone.
“Tough talk about the wall right now, right after Trump backing down, is low risk and comes without cost,” said Carlos Bravo Regidor, a professor.
Roughly one third of the 3,000 kilometres Mexico-US border is already blocked by a barrier, something Trump wants to complete and insists will stem the flow of migrants and stop drugs from entering the United States.
Security analysts have questioned Trump’s assertion the wall will stop illegal drugs since most illegal merchandise passes through legal ports of entry.
One member of Congress, Senator Ted Cruz, introduced the “El Chapo Act” — named for imprisoned Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquín Guzmán — on Tuesday, which would send any money forfeited by El Chapo or other drug bosses to build a border wall. Guzmán was extradited on the eve of Trump’s 20 January inauguration and prosecutors are seeking the criminal forfeiture of $14 billion (Dh51 billion) in illicit proceeds.
Judges, mayors, comedians and activists mobilised through social media — the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency has spawned a multi-faceted resistance hindering his efforts to enact election promises.
Widespread liberal outrage at the billionaire’s election spilt over into the Women’s March, which set the tone the day after his inauguration when millions of people poured onto streets across the United States.
The first head-on collision came a week later on January 27 when the White House issued its first travel ban, suspending visa-holders from seven Muslim majority countries and Syrian refugees indefinitely.
That weekend, hundreds of travellers were blocked at airports around the world as US lawyers and the powerful American Civil Liberties Union immediately contested the legality of the order. That scored an early victory for the opposition movement. The travel ban was suspended by a George W. Bush-nominated judge in Seattle, James Robart.
The Trump administration returned with a modified ban on March 15, reducing to six the number of implicated countries and excluding those with valid visas.
Another federal judge, Derrick Watson in Hawaii, blocked it again on the grounds that it was reasonable to conclude it was intended to “disfavour a particular religion, in spite of its stated, religiously-neutral purpose.”
Yet the battle against restricting immigration goes on. Thousands of people demonstrated on behalf of immigrants in February and March on a near daily basis.
On the campaign trail, Trump promised to expel millions of illegal immigrants. Shortly after he took power, his team ordered federal agents to crack down on undocumented migrants with a criminal record.
The Democratic mayors of the country’s three largest cities, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — Bill de Blasio, Eric Garcetti and Rahm Emanuel respectively — immediately moved to shore up their status as “sanctuary” cities for migrants.
The entertainment world in general, stuffed with vocal Hillary Clinton supporters, has seen myriad celebrities willing to attack Trump in public from Meryl Streep to Michael Moore, from Bruce Springsteen to Snoop Dogg.
And if the Democrat-leaning opposition irritates the president, a bigger threat comes from dissonant voices within Trump’s own party, namely Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham.