Donald Trump would force Mexico to pay for a border wall by threatening to block money transfers from Mexican immigrants back to their families, according to a new report.
Trump outlined his plan in a two-page memo to the Washington Post, which said he would threaten to withhold a portion of these remittances if Mexico refused to pay up. Trump would withdraw the threat if Mexico made "a one-time payment of $5-10 billion" to pay for the border wall, he wrote.
Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump has claimed the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border could be built for about $8 billion. His promise to build the border wall has become a cornerstone of his campaign.
"It's an easy decision for Mexico," Trump said in the memo. According to the Post, the memo, titled "Compelling Mexico to Pay for the Wall," was was written on campaign stationery embellished with "TRUMP Make America Great Again."
In 2015, nearly $25 billion was sent home by Mexicans living abroad, mostly in the form of money transfers, according to Mexico's central bank. Trump claims in the memo that "the majority of that amount comes from illegal aliens."
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04.30.2024