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Compelling Ultimatum

Donald Trump says he’ll force Mexico to pay for a border wall by threatening to cut off billions of dollars Mexican immigrants send home. In a Memo sent to The Washington Post, the Republican presidential front-runner gives details of his key campaign promise to make Mexico pay for the 1,000-mile barrier between the United States and its neighbor to the south.

In his proposal, Trump threatens to change a rule under the Patriot Act anti-terrorism law to cut off money transfers sent to Mexico, and adds he’d withdraw the threat if Mexico makes “a one-time payment of $5 to $10 billion” to finance the wall, the Post reported.

Entitled “Compelling Mexico to Pay for the Wall,” the memo is the latest attempt by The Donald to offer more specifics about his proposal. It includes rationales for a number of potential tactics, including increased trade tariffs, the cancellation of visas, and higher fees for border-crossing cards.

On day 1 Trump would issue a warning to Mexico that unless it pays his desired amount, he will promulgate a new provision based on the process for changes laid out in the Federal Register. “… no alien may wire money outside of the United States unless the alien first provides a document establishing his lawful presence in the United States.”

On day 2 Mexico “would immediately protest.” But he would declare that Mexico must choose between the enforcement of his provision or acquiescing.

On day 3 tell Mexico that if the Mexican government will contribute the funds needed to the United States to pay for the wall, the Trump Administration will not promulgate the final rule, and the regulation will not go into effect.”

Other aspects of Trump’s plan include:

  • “Trade tariffs, or enforcement of existing trade rules … Mexico is engaging in unfair subsidy behavior that has eliminated thousands of U.S. jobs …”;
  • “Cancelling visas: Immigration is a privilege, not a right. Mexico is totally dependent on the United States as a release valve for its own poverty.” Shut the valve and increase the pressure on the government from inside Mexico;
  • “Visa fees: Even a small increase in visa fees would pay for the wall. This includes fees on border crossing cards, of which more than 1 million are issued a year.”

Mexican “gangs, drug traffickers and cartels have freely exploited our open borders and committed vast numbers of crimes inside the United States.”

Trump ends his Memo with a stinging critique of Mexico, claiming it has “taken advantage” of the United States for years through “gangs, drug traffickers and cartels” responsible for “the extraordinary daily cost of this criminal activity.”

“We have the moral high ground here, and all the leverage. It is time we use it in order to Make America Great Again, Trump concludes.

The Trump Memo on remittance has caused a wave of criticism from various sources.

obama trumpPresident Obama sharply criticized Trump’s remittances proposal saying that he “is getting questions from foreign leaders about some of the … wackier suggestions that are being made” by Mr. Trump (and Sen. Cruz). “The notion that we’re going to track every Western Union bit of money that’s being sent to Mexico, good luck with that,” Obama said.

Earlier, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has said he won’t pay for Trump’s wall and claimed the candidate has damaged U.S.-Mexico relations.

The former Mexico president, Vicente Fox, also slammed the proposal not mincing words, saying, “I’m not going to pay for that f—– wall.”

By the way, Donald Trump tweeted on Feb 25, 2016 “… Vicente Fox horribly used the F-word when discussing the wall. He must apologize! If I did that there would be a uproar! “

Cristóbal Alex, president of the Latino Victory Fund, blasted the idea as “a very dangerous and unrealistic proposal.” “This is nothing but another attack against immigrants that would have devastating consequences for Latinos and Americans overall, endangering our economy, our democracy, our foreign policy and security,” Alex said.

Even among some Trump supporters this elaborate plan to compel Mexico to start cooperating in closing the border is not an easy sell. Mr. Trump’s plans may actually exacerbate some of our problems on the border. The same traffickers and cartels who now wreak havoc on the border could create an even wider network for transferring funds from illegals in USA.  This aspect of his plan seems to be the weakest part of Trump’s proposal and should be rectified quickly.

 

Full text of Donald Trump Memo.

 

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iPatriot Contributers

 

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