Political Science, asked by jayakrishna8936, 10 months ago

Why did president trump expected mexico to pay for the wall, given the fact that mexico is much smaller and poorer country than united states?

Answers

Answered by dhanrajaditya933
0

Mr Trump argues $5.7bn (£4.5bn) is needed to fund a wall to tackle the issue - his signature promise of his election campaign.

However, Democrats say such a barrier is a waste of taxpayers' money and a standoff over funding led to the longest-ever shutdown of the US government - 35 days between December and January.

Mr Trump went on to invoke emergency powers, which would allow him to appropriate military funds and resources, a move likely to be rejected by Congress.

Here are seven charts and maps that try to explain where we are with the wall and what the situation is like at the US-Mexico border.

1. Trump hasn't built very much of his wall

Before Mr Trump took office, there were 654 miles (just over 1,000km) of barrier along the southern border - made up of 354 miles of barriers to stop pedestrians and 300 miles of anti-vehicle fencing.

In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, Mr Trump promised to build a wall along the border's entire 2,000-mile length.

He later clarified that it would only cover half of that - with nature, such as mountains and rivers, helping to take care of the rest.

But, since Mr Trump entered the White House, although some of the already existing barriers have been replaced, work on extending the current barrier has only just begun.

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Overall, Congress has so far approved $1.7bn in funding for 124 miles of new and replacement barrier since Mr Trump entered the White House.

Just over 40 miles of replacement barriers had been built or begun by the end of 2018. Construction was expected to start on 61 more miles of replacement barrier in 2019. This equates to new sections of about 15% of existing structures.

The first construction on any extension to existing structures - what could be termed new barrier - was planned to start in February in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas.

Some 33 miles (53km) of barrier - or what US Customs and Border Protection calls "border wall system" - is to be erected in Hidalgo and Starr counties in the Rio Grande Valley (25 miles and eight miles respectively).

However, construction at five major landmarks along its length has been prohibited and some landowners have gone to court in an attempt to stop building on their property.

Despite Mr Trump's continued determination to see a wall along the border, a survey in January by the Pew Research Center suggests the majority of Americans - 58% - oppose substantially expanding it, while 40% support it.

2. No-one really knows how much it would cost

A number of widely different estimates for a concrete wall have been put forward by official and unofficial bodies - ranging from $12bn to $70bn.

Mr Trump's initial price tag of between $8bn and $12bn (£6.4bn and £9.7bn) for a wall covering half the length of the border was widely disputed.

The 650 miles of fencing built under President George W Bush cost an estimated $7bn, and it could not be described as fulfilling Mr Trump's promises of a "tall, powerful, beautiful" barrier.

However, Mr Trump wants $5.7bn in addition to the $1.7bn already allocated for homeland security - most of which is for new and replacement barriers.

Congress has approved an additional $1.4bn for 55 miles (88km) of new barrier for the financial year to September 2019 - but this is far short of what the president has asked for.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) previously estimated a wall spanning half the border would cost up to $25bn, but it has now said it is still looking at options to determine the price tag.

US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) says that, on average, it costs approximately $6.5m per mile to construct a new border wall or replace existing legacy fence.

3. Trump wanted concrete, but is now talking about steel

Mr Trump has changed his view of what constitutes a wall.

His promise to build a "big, beautiful wall" between the US and Mexico was a rallying cry throughout his election campaign. And early on, when he described it, he talked about concrete.

But once elected, he began talking about a barrier made of steel, so that border agents could see through it.

And in October 2017, when the Trump administration revealed eight 30ft-tall wall prototypes - they were a combination of concrete and metal.

Since December, Mr Trump has said he does not want to build a concrete wall at all, but instead wants "artistically-designed steel slats".

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