Donald Trump has defended the right of the USA to build a massive wall along its southern border during his first visit to Mexico as the Republican presidential candidate, and triggered a fresh controversy over who will foot the bill for it that could cost billions of dollars.
Advertisement
The Republican presidential candidate said that if elected, his administration would focus on border security.
“As with any law enforcement activity, we will set priorities”, Trump said. Otherwise we don’t have a country…
No pivot on immigration from Donald Trump.
“It’s so disappointing because we feel we took a chance, a very risky chance”, Aguilar said.
While he never moved away from his often-repeated promise to build a wall, he again discussed his plan to deport millions of illegal immigrants.
Last month, the Donald Trump campaign promised a reset of its minority outreach efforts, aimed at reversing Trump’s tanking poll numbers among voters of color and his lack of support among nonwhite political figures.
“People have to get to know that they can count on you, that you won’t say one thing one day and something totally different the next”, she told the American Legion in Cincinnati. “Sometimes it’s just not going to work out”. After his hardline immigration speech on Wednesday night, it looks like that effort isn’t going well.
Figueroa, who helped introduce Trump at a rally last week in Austin, did not go as far as to renounce his support for Trump.
“We will use the best technology, including above and below ground sensors. towers, aerial surveillance and manpower to supplement the wall”. After a long pause amid a chorus of applause, he continued “and Mexico will pay for the wall – 100%”. During the primaries, he was one of dozens of conservative Hispanics leaders who announced they could not support Trump. We didn’t discuss payment of the wall. The party was working on a path to legalization and immigration reform before Trump, writing in an after-action report: “If Hispanics think we do not want them here, they will close their ears to our policies”.
Peña Nieto, however, disputed that detail via Twitter.
Hours after the press conference, Peña Nieto sent a tweet in direct contrast to that claim: “At the beginning of the conversation with Donald Trump I made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall”, he said, in Spanish.
Advertisement
Towards the end of the speech, Trump brought out a group of “Angel Moms” who each spoke briefly about their sons or daughters being killed by illegal immigrants. A much more measured Trump described Mexicans as “amazing people” as he appeared alongside Pena Nieto in Mexico’s capital city.
