Trump’s plan for building wall: Cut off remittances sent by immigrants

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump would force Mexico to pay for a border wall by cutting off billions of dollars in remittances sent by immigrants living in the U.S., according to a published report Tuesday.

The Washington Post cited a two-page memo sent by the Republican presidential front-runner outlining how he would force Mexico to pay for the 1,000-mile wall if he becomes president.

In his proposal, Trump threatened to change a rule under the USA Patriot Act, an anti-terrorism law, to cut off funds sent to Mexico through money transfers known as remittances. Trump said he would withdraw the threat if Mexico makes “a one-time payment of $5-10 billion” to finance the wall, the newspaper reported.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonprofit research organization, the U.S. is home to more than 12 million Mexicans, some living here illegally. They and other migrants use money transfer agents or banks to send money home, often with the objective of supporting their families.

The Mexican central bank reported that money sent home by Mexicans overseas hit nearly $24.8 billion last year, overtaking oil revenues for the first time as a source of foreign income. Cutting off those transfers would therefore represent a significant blow to the Mexican economy.

In his memo, entitled “Compelling Mexico to Pay for the Wall,” Trump said that “the majority of that amount comes from illegal aliens.”

The billionaire businessman had previously provided few details on his proposed border wall with Mexico, saying only that it would cost between $10 billion and $12 billion, and that he would make Mexico pay for it.

Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto has said his country will not pay for any such wall. In an interview with the Excelsior newspaper last month, Pena Nieto compared Trump’s rhetoric to that of dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, saying that language like his has led to “very fateful scenes in the history of humanity.”