Mini: "Mexico is Paying for the Wall" is No Joke
Mexico didn't have to give cash to support Trump's border wall
I’ve gotta tip my hat to José Díaz-Briseño, the Washington correspondent for Mexico’s Reforma newspaper, for this one and for being a relentless caller of bullshit when he sees it in the US-Mexico relationship. He repeated a constant frustration for many of us last week.
On Wednesday, October 14, Donald Trump once again talked about the border wall during a campaign stop.
“It’s over 400 miles long, it’s already built. And as I said, Mexico is paying for the wall.” The crowd roared in support.
This seems like another easy opportunity to mock Trump because none of what he said is true (technically). As pieces like this one point out, no, Trump has not built 400 miles of new wall. No, Mexico has never contributed to it financially.
This direct interpretation of the facts leaves many mocking Trump for failing on his biggest campaign promise. But as those of us who follow immigration in the U.S and the Mexico know well, the two countries have walked in lockstep on immigration enforcement over the last few years.
I won’t go into detail on it now, but you can see my explainer on NPR here, and a longer piece which mixed my reporting and analysis in Current Affairs. But here’s a couple of significant points:
Mexico has allowed more than 66,000 U.S. asylum seekers to be sent from the U.S. back to Mexico under the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols. It’s a horrendous, dehumanizing program and Mexico has discarded these asylum seekers just as much as the U.S. has. Read more here.
Last year, pressured by the Trump administration, the Mexican government deployed tens of thousands of National Guard troops to stop and detain migrants throughout the country.
When pressured by the Trump administration, the Mexican government has rapidly ramped up arrests and deportations of migrants. It has also been accused by numerous human rights groups of migrant abuse, including preventing people from requesting asylum in Mexico.
So no, Mexico never gave the U.S. cash for Trump’s border wall.
What I admire is that the locals along the wall -- by and large -- understand the policy in human terms far more readily than the vigilantes and the politicians who are too ready to foment and exploit their white grievance. Continue to fight the good fight; you are on the right side of history. That matters. A contented conscience is the best sleeping pill.
The MAGAheads love the 400 mile line -- ten miles of it is new. He spent $3 Million to paint it black. Do you think there's a soup kitchen or school or clinic that could have used that money? Plus, he stills from military construction budgets to repair a wall that does not work. It is worth noting that the states that oppose the wall most fervently are Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The three states that approve of it? Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota.