No, I don't think taxpayers should pay for the wall but we have to do something. It's a big,big problem we have. So of we have to pay for the wall initially to secure our borders and then have Mexico pay for it - well, that's what is going to have to happen. Trump inherited this problem - he didn't make it.
Originally Posted by Austin Ellen
There is a lot of controversy over whether or not a wall is the best solution to the immigration problem from Mexico. But I don't believe anyone who says "Give me the money for the wall and I'll get it back from Mexico after the fact." with absolutely no game plan to do so. We exported $231 BILLION worth of goods to Mexico in 2016. But we imported $294.2 BILLION. So we have a trade deficit but Mexico is our 2nd largest trade partner and the 3rd place country (China) is less than half of what we have with Mexico.
Point is we don't have much leverage over Mexico when it comes to forcing them to pay for the wall. In a recent poll 85% of Americans believe the U.S. will foot the bill for building the wall. Tariffs? We do that and Mexico does the same.
Yes, Trump inherited the problem. The number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. rose greatly during the Bush administration and actually came down during the Obama administration. No wall yet the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. did not go up from 2009 through 2016. Estimates are that the migration from Mexico will not pick up in the future because of the country's shrinking youth population and declining birth rate.
This was a campaign promise from Trump. It resounded well with Trump's main voting bloc so he kept on preaching it at his rallies. I don't blame him for that but even within the Republican party there are many who do not support the building of the wall. In every poll on the subject, Americans do not support the building of the wall. It's time to listen to the people and for Trump to lower his sights for what he wants concerning the wall. If Democrats take over the House in 2018, funding for the wall will probably end.