Trump advised Spain to build a wall across Sahara
Foreign minister says US president made suggestion of how to stem flow of illegal migrants from Africa
DONALD TRUMP suggested that Spain could limit the flow of African migrants entering illegally by building a wall across the Sahara desert, the country’s foreign minister has revealed.
Josep Borrell discussed the US president’s comment – which mirrors his prominent campaign promise to erect a “big, beautiful wall” along America’s border with Mexico – during an event in Madrid this week.
Mr Trump is thought to have made the remark to Mr Borrell when he visited the White House alongside Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia in June.
This year Spain has overtaken Italy and Greece to become the No 1 point of entry for migrants coming to Europe by sea from Africa. Mr Borrell reportedly told a lunch gathering this week: “Closing ports is not a solution, and neither is building a wall along the Sahara like President Trump suggested to me recently.”
He quoted Mr Trump as saying: “Just build a wall that borders the Sahara.”
Mr Borrell responded: “But do you know how big the Sahara is?”
The US president reportedly brushed away the scepticism, saying that “the Sahara border can’t be bigger than our border with Mexico”.
The Us-mexico border is roughly 2,000 miles long. The Sahara desert stretches almost 3,000 miles from east to west at its longest point.
Spain holds two small overseas territories in north Africa – Ceuta and Melilla – meaning that such a wall would have to be built on foreign territory. In total, the desert stretches over parts of 11 different countries: Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia.
A Spanish foreign ministry spokesman confirmed to The Guardian that Mr Borrell’s remarks, widely reported in the Spanish media, had been made but declined to comment further.
Some 33,000 migrants and refugees entered Spain after crossing the Mediterranean this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration. The total is higher than any other European country and accounts for 43 per cent of all such arrivals this year. Spain’s 2018 figure is also more than three times higher than in 2016.
The rise has fuelled political debate in Spain. Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister, agreed to accept 630 refugees on the rescue ship Aquarius after it was turned away by Italy and Malta.
The two high fences which separate Ceuta and Melilla from Morocco have also been a focal point for migrants seeking to enter Europe and have provoked controversy.
Mr Trump’s border wall with Mexico, which could cost up to $20 billion (£15.1 billion), has struggled to live up to its billing on the campaign trail. Spending agreements passed by Congress have failed to provide the full funds he has demanded.