One week before the end of his term, outgoing President Donald Trump will visit a section of his partially constructed border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border in Alamo, Texas.
Since 2016, approximately 452 miles of new wall has been constructed on the 1,952 mile long southern border, just 12 miles of which was not already fortified. Estimates place the cost of the wall at $15 billion, $11.5 billion of which was diverted from defense spending. None of the money used to pay private contractors was given by Mexico, which Trump famously promised would pay for the wall.
Judd Deere, a Trump spokesperson said Sunday that Trump will be visiting Alamo, Texas “to mark the completion of more than 400 miles of border wall — a promise made, promise kept — and his Administration’s efforts to reform our broken immigration system.” The Trump administration’s immigration reform measures, as explained on the White House website, support “ending chain migration, eliminating the Visa Lottery, and moving the country to a merit-based entry system.” The ‘chain migration’ system that Trump hopes to end is the same one which allowed, his wife, Melania Trump’s parents to become U.S. citizens during the Trump presidency.
Trump’s visit will be in the district of House Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), who has openly criticized Trump’s upcoming visit. “Do not be fooled: President Trump does not care about the people of South Texas, this country, or the rule of law,” said Gonzalez. “This individual fomented an attack on the United States Capitol and American democracy.”
