In a memo to the Washington Post published early Tuesday morning, Donald Trump laid out several strategies he could use to force Mexico to pay for a wall along the southern border of the United States.
Trump has long claimed that Mexico would pay for the wall, even though Mexican leaders have said they will never pay for a border fence.
The first plan Trump details uses the Patriot Act to limit the ability of Mexican nationals to send wire transfers to Mexico. Trump would propose a rule that would require proof of legal residence in the U.S. in order to send a wire transfer. Trump claimed that Mexico receives $24 billion in remittances from individuals in the U.S. each year and that “the majority of that amount comes from illegal aliens.” However, the Washington Post noted that the $24 million figure used by Trump reflects how much Mexico receives from all foreign countries, not just the U.S.
Trump wrote in his memo that if Mexico agreed to make a $5-10 billion payment to the U.S. for the wall, he would not finalize the rule limiting wire transfers.
Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, spelled out this tactic in his February statement endorsing Trump, and the Post noted that Trump’s memo echoed tactics proposed by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who has endorsed Trump.
In the memo, Trump also wrote that he could use tariffs and visas as leverage to convince Mexico to pay for the wall.
Trump concluded his memo by mentioning how Mexican gangs and drug cartels exploit “our open borders.”
“The United States has borne the extraordinary daily cost of this criminal activity, including the cost of trials and incarcerations. Not to mention the even greater human cost. We have the moral high ground here, and all the leverage. It is time we use it in order to Make America Great Again,” he wrote.
Read the full memo to the Washington Post here.
Correction: This post originally stated that Trump claimed that Mexico receives $24 million in remittances each year from the U.S. He claimed that Mexico receives $24 billion. We regret the error.
Caitlin it is $24 billion in remittances not million
I would ask if this is legal. Or ask if this means that wire transfer companies would then have to “vet” the citizenship of the customer. Or ask how that money that would have been sent somehow magically ends up in the federal budget, or… …never mind
if this is how Donnie Dimwit does business it’s no wonder he’s had to file so many bankruptcies…
spend $5-10 billion for access to $24 million? that sounds like a good idea…
the 24 million is a typo it is 24 billion. Still a dumb ass idea.
Let’s see. What could little, defenseless Mexico do in response to supergenius Donald Trump? Oh, how about…
A.) Forbid any Mexican citizens from going into the U.S. as migrant workers, helping to destroy the farm economy since the American farms could never find enough workers to do that kind of labor at such lousy wages. Yes, I’m sure Americans will just love paying $9.00 a pound for tomatoes - and not just at Whole Foods anymore.
B.) What’s to stop the government of Mexico from cozying up to Russia and China or any other nation that the U.S. government isn’t exactly thrilled about? Remember Cuba in the early 1960s, Donald? Gee, I wonder how much China would pay the government of Mexico for the chance to build an air force base in Tijuana?