Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to keep out illegal immigrants was a cornerstone of his campaign. Now that he has been elected, people are wondering how serious he really is about building the wall.
It seems to be a tired topic. Those who oppose it oppose it very strongly. Those who agree with it seem to be able to debate the issue forever.
Trump recently signed an executive order to start the planning and prepping of the “great wall” on our southern border. The proposal would extend over 2,000 miles, which is the length of the border. Since taking office, he has shown the world that he will be tough on immigration, both illegal and legal.
In a recent CNBC report, it was estimated that Trump is looking to build a wall that would cost the American taxpayer between $15-$25 billion, which is about $16 million per mile. He has said time and time again that the United States will not pay for the wall, but that Mexico ultimately will pay for it up front or in a reimbursement payment later.
These costs are just the ones to put the wall up. The cost to keep it up to date and running every day for the foreseeable future will absolutely prove to be higher than that. Local unemployment rates are sure to drop for a few years while it is being built, but what happens after that?
On Feb. 11, Trump wrote in two tweets that he heard the cost for the wall was more than originally expected. He went on to say that, “I have not gotten involved in the design or negotiations yet. When I do … price will come WAY DOWN!”
When I saw these tweets, there was only one thing that went through my mind — why does the price of the wall matter if Mexico is going to eventually pay for it?
Multiple news outlets were reporting that over the weekend, Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs, Luis Videgaray, warned of retaliation to Trump’s notion of an export tax into the United States.
While there was no official comment from the Mexican Foreign Ministry on these remarks, one can speculate that Mexican officials won’t stand for a tax to pay for a wall that they don’t see as justified.
The current Mexican President, Enrique Peña Nieto, has spoken out against Mexico paying for the wall. He talked about how Mexico doesn’t believe in walls and they can’t support the building of Trump’s new great wall. Even the previous president, Vicente Fox, has vehemently condemned the idea of Mexico paying for a wall.
If Mexico were to actually implement sanctions of some sort, it would show that they are not going to play Trump’s games. After the controversial executive order on immigration was signed in January, Iraq barred U.S. citizens from entering the country. While I don’t think this will happen in Mexico, it was interesting to see that nations are realizing that they may be able to push around the once immovable United States.
Even after all of this public backlash against Trump, the possible sanctions and the threats coming from the Trump administration, the Mexican peso is now stronger than it was following the election. The trend shows that the peso will continue to grow.
While import taxes may seem like the most obvious way to pay for a wall, it may end up hurting the American consumer. Mexico exports everything from telephones to tomatoes into the United States. If the tax passed through like Trump would want it to, we most likely will end up paying more for the same good than we do right now.
For $15 or $25 billion dollars, you would think that the American government could come up with a more modern way to stop illegal immigrants from coming into this country than a concrete wall. The Great Wall of China worked over 2,000 years ago because people did not have the advanced boats and planes that we now have. In an era of technology and supreme transportation, people are going to figure out how to get above, over and through the wall. Why not beef up the current border patrol rather than try to start something brand new?
According to the Pew Research Center, the number of illegal immigrants from Mexico has actually decreased since 2009. In 2014, the total number of illegal immigrants in the United States stood at around 11.1 million people, or 3.5 percent of the nation’s population.
This number shows that our border patrol is doing strong work and would only benefit from an investment directly into their branch of law enforcement. You could make the argument that the wall would help. However, the current walls that are up on our border don’t seem to be doing the job. A thicker and slightly higher wall isn’t the answer.
It doesn’t sound like there is a lot of faith in Trump’s magic wall, and there shouldn’t be. It is an investment that would be better suited elsewhere in the fight against illegal immigration.
