How Trump plans to make Mexico pay for the wall

A proposal would add a fee on money sent by individuals in the U.S. to recipients in Mexico

WASHINGTON» Mexico will never cut a check to the U.S. Treasury, but President Donald Trump is zeroing in on a plan so that the president can argue America’s southern neighbor will indeed fund the border wall, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

The plan that aides are piecing together would force Mexico to pay for the wall in indirect ways, including through remittance fees and tapping Mexico’s trade surplus with the United States.

“He will find a way,” said a former Trump adviser who is in close contact with the White House. “The wall will be funded partially or all by an additional revenue stream.”

Publicly, the priority is getting the $25 billion or so that Trump says is needed to fund the wall as part of a package deal that would protect so-called Dreamers and reduce family migration. Privately, the White House is mulling over various proposals to ensure U.S. taxpayers are reimbursed for the wall’s initial costs — or at least some of the price tag.

While Trump’s team has not reached a consensus, leading proposals include adding a small percentage fee on money sent by individuals in the United States to recipients in Mexico. Another is directing a surplus in revenue from a revised trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short also has spoken favorably of a proposal presented by Republican members of Congress to have foreign tech workers, although largely not Mexican, pay for part of the wall, according to a U.S. source familiar with the conversations.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, has shared a proposal on remittances with the White House.

“There are many, many proposals in the hopper,” she said. “They’re going through a process.”

Politically, Trump needs to make good on his campaign promise before he begins stumping for Republican candidates this fall, not to mention when he runs for re-election in 2020. In each case, Democrats are likely to attack him for squandering taxpayer money on a needless border wall — a structure he insisted he would force Mexico to pay for.

Chris Chmielenski, NumbersUSA’s director of content and activism, said it’s probably not so much of an issue for Republicans running in the midterm elections; rather Trump likely wants to “save face” before his own reelection campaign.

“I could see from a political point — for 2020 — them saying, ‘We may have to think of some ways,’ ” Chmielenski said.

Trump repeatedly promised during the 2016 campaign that he would build a wall along the southwest border and force Mexico to pay for it. But Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has made it clear Mexico would never fund the wall and efforts to get the funding from Congress have yet to materialize.

More than a year into his presidency, Trump has not backed down on the promise, although the size, cost and source of funds for the wall have shifted.

“The Wall will be paid for, directly or indirectly, or through longer term reimbursement, by Mexico,” Trump tweeted on Jan. 18.

He raised the pressure Tuesday, saying he’d be willing to shut down the federal government this week if Congress does not approve his border security proposal, which includes the wall.