Trump’s demand for $$$ for the ‘wall’ lacks merit

During the 2016 presiden- tial election as political newcomer Donald Trump was taking the country by storm, the issue that caused his supporters to swoon was his promise to build a huge wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

But it wasn’t just the prospect of a massive barrier hundreds of miles long that caused voters in the Republican primary and the general election to support an individual who had never run for elected office.

Trump, the billionaire real-estate developer from New York City who talked about draining the swamp in Washington, promised that Mexico would pay for the wall. There was no equivocation. Here’s what he said time and time again about stemming the flow of illegal immigrants from south of the border:

“I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I’ll have Mexico pay for the wall.”

How would Trump, who boasted about having the best negotiating skills in the country, force Mexico to pay up? By invoking Section 326 of the USA Patriot Act to “issue detailed regulations” under specified provisions to block remittance payments from unauthorized residents of the United States back to family and friends in Mexico, according to vox.com.

The Trump campaign went so far as to explain why the Mexican government would be more than willing to do his bidding: “It’s an easy decision for Mexico: make a one-time payment of $5-$10 billion to ensure that $24 billion continues to flow into their country year after year.”

“Build the wall” became the rallying cry during the hotly contested primary and general elections. Trump would invariably add, “And Mexico will pay for it.”

Demagoguery

It didn’t matter to his supporters that Mexican government officials dismissed the idea offhand, while Republican and Democratic candidates for president accused him of demagoguery.

It is worth recalling that the New York billionaire also talked about deporting the 11 million or so immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

Nonetheless, Trump won, and now the country is in the midst of a partial shutdown of the federal government – over funding for the wall.

The president has demanded $5 billion from the U.S. treasury, which the GOP-controlled House of Representatives agreed to last week.

However, the Republican majority in the Senate cannot approve the funding without the help of Democrats, who have made it clear they have no intention of giving Trump what he wants.

Democrats are justified in fighting the president on this issue. After all, he won the White House on the strength of his pledge to force Mexico to pay for the wall.

He did not say anything about the federal government writing the check, nor did he argue that Mexico would ultimately put up the money through a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement.

As a result of the impasse in Washington, a stopgap bill needed to fund various federal agencies is languishing. A partial government shutdown began at midnight Friday and is expected to continue through the new year.

Members of Congress returned to Capitol Hill today to try to find a solution to the wall dilemma.

As we noted in our Christmas Day editorial, there is a solution to this country’s long-standing immigration crisis. It was developed five years ago by a bipartisan group of senators and won Senate approval with Democratic and Republican votes.

The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 died in the House because the Republican majority did not want to give Democratic President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress a victory they could carry into the 2014 midterm elections.

The act offered a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants who are in this country illegally and tightened border security by doubling the size of the border patrol.

It also called for the construction of a 700-mile high-tech security fence.

We again urge President Trump to embrace the 2013 act as a way out of the current political impasse.