Table of Contents
MARCH 5, 2015: ‘AN IMPENETRABLE WALL’
- Trump’s call for a border wall became frequent in 2015. Months before he declared his candidacy, he tweeted, “I want nothing to do with Mexico other than to build an impenetrable WALL and stop them from ripping off U.S.” 2019
WHAT IS THE ISSUE?
- The continental border between the U.S. and Mexico stretches for nearly 2,000 miles.
- The land border reaches across four states – Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.
- The entire border between U.S. and Mexico extends from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean.
ISSUES
- A U.S Department of Homeland Security report estimated that 170,000 people successfully entered the U.S. illegally from the southern border in 2015.
- There were approximately 5.6 million “unauthorized immigrants” from Mexico by 2016, according to data from the Pew Research Center.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN THE U.S.
- There were 10.7 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in 2016, representing 3.3% of the total U.S. population that year.
- A rising share of unauthorized immigrants have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade. About
two-thirds (66%) of unauthorized immigrant adults in 2016 had been in the U.S.
WHY DO IMMIGRANTS COME TO AMERICA?
- Better standard of living Better wages Unemployment in their native country/countries
THE WALL AND POLITICS
- Throughout his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump called for the construction of a much larger and fortified border wall, claiming that if elected, he would “build the wall and make Mexico pay for it.“
- Some estimates show an $8 to $12 billion cost for such a project, while others find there are enough uncertainties to drive the cost to between $15 and $25 billion. (some estimates suggest 60 billion dollars)
TRUMP MARCHING AHEAD
- In January 2017, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said his country would not pay for the wall.
- On January 25, 2017, the Trump administration signed Executive Order 13767, which formally directed the US government to begin attempting to construct a border wall using existing federal funding, although actual construction of a wall did not begin at this time due to the large expense and lack of clarity on how it would be paid for.
SHUTDOWN AND POSSIBLE EMERGENCY
- Recently, Trump wants Congress to approve $5 billion for the project, but Democrats are offering only $1.3 for border security.
- Hence, a shutdown was triggered after the U.S. President was refused funding for his border wall by the Congress.
- He also threatened to call a national emergency and urged to build the wall very quickly, even though the legality of such a step is uncertain.
- Thus, the federal government partially shut down on December 22 and if it were to last beyond January 12, it would be the longest shutdown in United States history
WHAT IF TRUMP DECLARES EMERGENCY IN THE U.S
- What checks and balances does the US have on emergency powers in the White House?
- Not enough. The actual discretion to declare an emergency is almost unlimited.
- U.S Congress has not set any limits. Congress hasn’t provided any definition of national emergency or required the president to make any showing.
ANALYSIS
- The U.S wall can be an excuse for the Trump administration to impose emergency and abuse power
- Although this move can be challenged in the court, the President will still be the one in complete control
- This could damage democratic institutions world wide and set a very bad example
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