Even before he was elected to office, President Donald Trump has boasted about a picture-perfect southern border wall that would supposedly keep out illegal immigrants from flocking to the United States. While the President has placed the price-tag of the wall to be around $12 to $18 billion, other estimates go up to as high as $285 billion (Felbab-Brown). He has speculated via tweet that, “the $18 billion wall will pay for itself by curbing the importation of crime, drugs, and illegal immigrants who tend to go on the federal dole” (Kessler). However, although originally claiming that Mexico would pay for the wall, he has gone back on this by asking Congress for money to finance the project. Almost a quarter way through President Trump’s presidency, it is unclear as to whether these plans will be acted on.

Supporters of the wall have continually insisted that a border wall is the only solution to curb the problems that arise due to illegal immigration once and for all because “ as long as people think they can cross the border illegally, they will continue to try” (Judd). They claim that the wall would not only save American taxpayers large sums of money in less need for security along the border but also free up resources that could be used to quicken up the processes to legal immigration and assist others in their path to seeking asylum. According to President Trump, over $113 billion is lost a year in tax revenue due to increased government spending on social welfare and education programs (McFadyen).

However, all these claims only scrape the surface of the real issue at heart. Despite the obvious costs to taxpayers, many other unintended consequences have the potential to arise if the wall is constructed. President Trump promised during his campaign to raise funding for the project by seizing remittances to Mexico (Felbab-Brown). Depriving Mexico of this money would hurt their economy and negatively impact the United States as one of their major trading partners. As part of a vicious cycle, this would exacerbate illegal immigration into the United States when poverty and unemployment drive young men to join gangs, participate in drug activity, and other criminal behavior that makes the country increasingly unsafe. The border wall encourages drug smugglers to become more innovative in their operations and to escape crime, families to get in boats reminiscent of the Mediterranean migration tragedy.

The Trump Administration has promoted the idea that the relationship between the United States and Mexico is one in which Mexico is the only beneficiary. But in fact, the two countries have extremely integrated economies (Al Camp). The only thing the border wall accomplishes is spreading this false belief that would, in turn, lead to other detrimental actions. For example, the White House has suggested the idea of putting in place an imports tax on Mexican goods. This would hurt American retailers and undoubtedly American consumers when costs are passed on to them. Goods in the United States would become more costly, and to make matters worse, Mexico could react by placing taxes on American imports or even begin to boycott American franchises operating in the United States. Consequently, the profits of such companies would plummet. Overall, souring foreign relations with Mexico through any of these proposals could potentially cause the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), to fall apart altogether, destroying the continental economy that previous administrations have grown for the past twenty-five years.

In order to keep the American economy thriving, it is imperative that the country keep friendly relations with Mexico. However, construction of the wall would do anything but that. On top of that, the Trump Administration has not even factored in the costs of repairing and maintaining the wall over time. With the wild differences in price estimations for the physical construction of the well as several short and long-run costs, President Trump’s border wall could permanently damage the United States economy for generations to come.

Works Cited

Al Camp, Roderic. "The economic relationship between Mexico and the United States." OUP: Oxford University Press's Academic Insights for the Thinking World, 17 Feb. 2018.

Felbab-Brown, Vanda. "Border wall's costs far outweigh benefits." The Hill, 30 Jan. 2017.

Judd, Brandon. "Border Patrol Agent: Trump's wall is the best way to end to the humanitarian crisis on our southern border." Fox News, 29 June 2018.

Kessler, Glenn. "Does President Trump’s border wall pay for itself?" The Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2018.

McFadyen, Jennifer. "Weighing the Pros and Cons of U.S.-Mexico Border Barrier." ThoughtCo, Oct. 1, 2018.