One of the hallmarks of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was his promise to build a wall along the Mexican border to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States. His original plan was to force Mexico to pay for the wall by threatening to impose regulations that would stop the flow of cash remittances sent from undocumented Mexicans living in the United States to their relatives at home.
In early January, however, President-elect Trump’s transition team signaled to Republicans leaders in Congress that his preference would be to fund the border wall through the appropriations pocess and have Mexico reimburse U.S. taxpayers later. Mexican leaders have said repeatedly that they would not pay for the wall.
Trump’s team maintains that the United States will have the authority to build the wall through a 2006 law that authorized additional fencing along the border.
One way to fund the new infrastructure would be by including the money in a final 2017 appropriations bill that Congress must pass by the end of April to keep the government operating. Democrats opposed to the wall and Republicans concerned about budget deficits could try to block the project, however, leading to a potential government shutdown — a situation both parties would like to avoid.
Congress could also fund the wall through supplemental appropriations, Fiscal Year 2018 Homeland Security Department appropriations, or emergency spending — but these options could require taking money away from other defense or domestic programs. These options could also delay the process and slow the project’s momentum.
The Senate Appropriations Committee’s top Democrat, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, stated:
“If President Trump asks Congress to approve taxpayer dollars to build a wall, which he has always said would not be paid for by U.S. taxpayers, we will carefully review the request to determine if these taxpayer dollars would be better spent on building hospitals to care for our veterans, roads and bridges to help taxpayers get to work, and for NIH [National Institutes of Health] to find cures for cancer.”
Meanwhile, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-AR) called securing the border a priority that House Republicans share with the incoming administration. “We want President Trump to have all the tools he needs to build the wall,” he said. “We’re going to work with him to make sure we can get it done.”
Creating a solid wall along the 2,000-mile border would also involve issues relating to environmental protection and private property rights, which could lead to costly and time-consuming litigation.
President Trump’s proposed immigration policy also includes deportation of unauthorized immigrants with criminal records and punishments for those who illegally re-enter the country after being deported and for those who overstay their visas.
For more background on immigration, see the September 2016 issue of Supreme Court Debates on “Obama’s Immigration Reform,” the March 2015 issue of Congressional Digest on “Immigration Reform,” and the November 2010 issue of Congressional Digest on “The DREAM Act.”
