Donald Trump would force Mexico to pay for a border wall by threatening to block money transfers from Mexican immigrants back to their families, the campaign announced on Tuesday.
Trump outlined his plan in a memo released Tuesday, which said he would threaten to withhold a portion of these remittances if Mexico refused to pay up. Trump would withdraw the threat if Mexico made “a one-time payment of $5-10 billion” to pay for the border wall, he wrote.
Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump has claimed the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border could be built for about $8 billion. His promise to build the border wall has become a cornerstone of his campaign.
“It’s an easy decision for Mexico,” the memo, titled “Compelling Mexico to Pay for the Wall,” reads.
In 2015, nearly $25 billion was sent home by Mexicans living abroad, mostly in the form of money transfers, according to Mexico’s central bank. Trump claims in the memo that “the majority of that amount comes from illegal aliens.”
The campaign argues that by blocking payments home to Mexico, it would have severe consequences on Mexico’s economy, which would thus force the government to pay up for the wall.
Other proposals the campaign offers to pay for the wall include: tariffs on Mexican goods, cancelling visas of Mexicans, and raising visa fees.
“We have the moral high ground here, and all the leverage,” Trump said in the memo. “It is time we use it in order to make America great again.”
