Mexico up against the border wall
Pena Nieto condemns Trump’s order, refuses to pay
PRESIDENT Donald Trump has ordered work to begin on building a wall along the Mexican border, angering his southern neighbour with his hardline stance on immigration.
The US leader instructed officials on Wednesday to begin to “plan, design and construct a physical wall along the southern border” and see how it could be funded.
“A nation without borders is not a nation,” Trump said, echoing former president Ronald Reagan, as he visited the Department of Homeland Security to sign two executive orders.
“Beginning today, the United States of America gets back control of its borders,” the Republican president said.
Hours later, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto demanded respect for his country in a nationally televised address.
“I regret and condemn the decision of the US to continue construction of a wall that, for years, has divided us instead of uniting us,” Pena Nieto said. “I have said it time and again: Mexico will not pay for any wall.”
Pena Nieto said he would wait for a report from a highlevel Mexican delegation in Washington and consult with governors and lawmakers before deciding on the next steps to take.
Lawmakers are pressuring the Mexican leader to cancel a meeting with Trump in Washington next week.
Stemming immigration was a central plank of Trump’s election campaign. His signature prescription was to build a wall along the 3 200km US-Mexico border.
Some of the border is already fenced, but Trump says a wall is needed to stop illegal immigrants from Latin America.
A Morning Consult/Politico poll released on Wednesday, said 47% of voters support building a wall, with 45% against.
Experts have voiced doubts about whether a wall would actually slow illegal immigration, or if it is worth the billions it is expected to cost.
Despite the high-octane rhetoric, Trump’s action was piecemeal, looking to identify existing funds that could be diverted towards the project.
The Republican-controlled Congress, which has long preached fiscal prudence, would need to approve billions more if the wall is to be anywhere near completed.
Trump also ordered a survey of the border to be completed within 180 days.
Much of the land needed to build the wall would have to be seized from private citizens in Texas, the state of Texas or tribal authorities.
That could result in long court battles and hefty expropriation payments.
“The only real solution to reform our immigration system is to pass comprehensive immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people in the US,” top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said.
Trump has promised to make Mexico pay for the wall, something the Mexican government has said will not happen. Trump aides have considered raising border tariffs or border transit costs as one way to “make Mexico pay”.
Another threat is to finance the wall by tapping into remittances that Mexican migrants send home, which last year amounted to $25-billion.
Left unresolved is the fate of the “dreamers”, the foreign-born, US-raised children of undocumented migrants. The children – many of whom are now adults – were brought to the US illegally as minors.
About 750 000 of them were granted work permits and temporary residency under a 2009 programme known as Daca under former president Barack Obama.
Trump promised that his administration will “be coming out with policy on that over the next three to four weeks,” but gave no further details. — AFP