Since the beginning of Donald Trump's campaign, he has promised the American people that he would build a wall on the US/Mexican border and crack down on illegal immigrants in America. However, many thought that he was not being serious about this claim. It has been his first week sworn into office, and he has already signed the order. What happens next?
According to www.cnn.com, Trump's wall will be at least 1,300 miles long, 40 feet high, and will contain 19 million tons of concrete. Trump gives the wall an estimate of $10 billon, which narrows down to $7.4 million per mile. Trump has stated that Mexico will pay for the wall, but the Mexican government refuses.
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When Trump first announced his running for the presidency in June 2015, he introduced the idea of the wall. He stated that due to his real estate experience (Trump Towers), he would be able to build this wall out of high-quality material, for a very low cost, says CBS News.
"I will build a great wall, and nobody builds wall 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 will make Mexico pay for that border. Mark my words." (Credit: Carlo Allegri, Reuters)
Along with the construction of the wall, Trump has signed an order that will employ thousands of immigration officers to enforce deportation for people who are in the country illegally. Currently, there are around 11 million illegal immigrants in the US at this moment according to www.migrationpolicy.org. No matter how asinine and absurd this sounds, Trump has a plan for it. He plans on following a military-roundup style, just as Eisenhower did in 1954, according to New York Times. This plan that was known as Operation Wetback and deported thousands of Mexicans.
According to ice.gov, ICE removed 240,255 illegal immigrants in 2016. Trump expects his deportation plan to be complete in two years, which experts and science say is 100% impossible. In an article on New York Times, the American Action Forum stated that the federal cost for this would be at least $400 billion, and the total length of time would be around 20 years.
A question on everyone's mind right now is how in the world will Trump fund all of this? The Mexican government is not paying for the wall, and the country is already in crippling debt. Even on Donald Trump's personal website, www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/immigration, he has not stated a strategic plan to pay for all of these expenses. Numerous times, he has said that he is for the American people and only wants the best for them, but how is he ensuring this?
"Day one, my first hour in office, they're all gone." Trump said during a speech.
It's one week into his office, they aren't gone, and they probably never will be. What other empty promises will he make with the American people?
