Trump Argues Mexico Will Build the Wall

Tahirih Njang, Staff Writer

Since the United States presidential election in 2016, there has been continuous talk of building a border wall to further separate the United States and Mexico. The main objective of this plan, which then-candidate Donald Trump set in motion during his run for the republican nomination, was to make it less attainable for Central American and Mexican immigrants to flee their home countries to enter the United States.

Once he assumed the presidency, Trump continued to fight for his border wall, and it has become the central issue in the longest government shutdown in history. In early January, Trump made his first national TV address from the Oval Office to address the issue of the wall and the shutdown.

Trump has repeatedly promised the American public that he wants the border wall to be paid for by Mexico. In his address, however, he stated that he will force Mexico to pay for it, but that it now will be done “indirectly by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico.”

A physical border wall, according to a Fox News report, could cost between $8 billion and $70 billion, including $150 million to $750 million for yearly maintenance. Trump argues that the wall would quickly pay for itself, comparing the cost of illegal drugs that come into the country to the cost of the steel border wall. According to Trump, the barrier is “absolutely critical to border security” and is “common sense.”

Aside from the concern about funding for the wall, there seems to be little to no talk from the government about the ethics of what a wall would mean. The issues on our southern border is already in disarray in many ways with family separations and unethical detentions. These must be addressed in a humane way, and a border wall is no way to start.