# Does anybody understand how Mexico will pay for the wall? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 25, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144 "2017-01-25T14:59:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/21 "2017-01-25T16:44:37Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Looks like we are planning on giving Mexico [about $134M](http://beta.foreignassistance.gov/explore/country/Mexico) in foreign aid. Keep it and that’s 13.5 miles right there. A large portion of the $134M is tied to the [Merida Initiative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9rida_Initiative) which provides funds to Mexico to help reduce the flow of drugs into the US. Note, not Mexican drugs into the US, just the flow of drugs through Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/22 "2017-01-25T16:57:45Z")
I saw an interview on TV of a woman dressed in Trump regalia who was confident that it would be like the Great Wall of China and patrolled by the military. “Of course the Mexicans will pay for it,” she said. Last year a panel in my garden fence blew down and it cost £50 to replace. The house next door (it’s a shared fence) is rented and I had to negotiate with his letting agent - it took six weeks to get an agreement and I had to pay up front before he reimbursed his half. How that will play out between governments I have no idea. I believe Theresa May is keeping a close watch in case she has to rebuild Hadrian’s Wall. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/23 "2017-01-25T17:05:41Z")
In the Cayman Islands the government imposed a tax on remittance service international transmission of funds such as Western Union or Moneygram. Hasn’t stopped the expat workers lining up every payday to send money home. They are paying the tax, currently set at 2% with a maximum of CI$10 (US$12.50) per transaction. A similar tax in the US would likely provide a steady stream of income that otherwise would have largely gone to Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/24 "2017-01-25T17:08:25Z")
**Moderator Action** Since Trump hasn’t revealed how he plans to pay for his wall, there’s not much factual information to be had here. I think this thread will do better in IMHO where people can speculate more freely and can express political opinions as well. Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/25 "2017-01-25T17:10:06Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I saw an interview on TV of a woman dressed in Trump regalia who was confident that it would be like the Great Wall of China and patrolled by the military. Patrolled by the military on the US side? I’m pretty sure that it’s not legal for the United States military to operate within the actual United States boundaries. Now if the military patrolled the Mexican side of the wall that would make more sense as that would be a proper (if highly unpopular) use of the military. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/26 "2017-01-25T17:10:09Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > In the Cayman Islands the government imposed a tax on remittance service international transmission of funds such as Western Union or Moneygram. Hasn’t stopped the expat workers lining up every payday to send money home. They are paying the tax, currently set at 2% with a maximum of CI$10 (US$12.50) per transaction. > > A similar tax in the US would likely provide a steady stream of income that otherwise would have largely gone to Mexico. Once again, the proposal is to tax illegal aliens. If we know that someone is an illegal alien and tax that person instead of deport that person _isn’t that indicating that the current government would rather have them here than deport them?_ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/27 "2017-01-25T17:41:26Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I saw an interview on TV of a woman dressed in Trump regalia who was confident that it would be like the Great Wall of China and patrolled by the military. “Of course the Mexicans will pay for it,” she said. > > Last year a panel in my garden fence blew down and it cost £50 to replace. The house next door (it’s a shared fence) is rented and I had to negotiate with his letting agent - it took six weeks to get an agreement and I had to pay up front before he reimbursed his half. How that will play out between governments I have no idea. > > I believe Theresa May is keeping a close watch in case she has to rebuild Hadrian’s Wall. It’d be an easier build. Have you seen what Hadrian’s Wall looks like? > **[Hadrian's Wall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian%27s_Wall#/media/File:Hadrian%27s_wall_at_Greenhead_Lough.jpg)** > > Hadrian's Wall (Latin: Vallum Hadriani, also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or Vallum Aelium in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Running from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west of what is now northern England, it was a stone wall with large ditches in front and behind, stretching across the whole width of the island. Soldiers were garrisoned along the l... > **[Hadrian's Wall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian%27s_Wall#/media/File:Hadrianswall2007.jpg)** > > Hadrian's Wall (Latin: Vallum Hadriani, also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or Vallum Aelium in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Running from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west of what is now northern England, it was a stone wall with large ditches in front and behind, stretching across the whole width of the island. Soldiers were garrisoned along the l... Even granting that the wall has been “mined” for stone (although those remaining sections have awfully flat and finished tops), the wall wasn’t anywhere hear as tall as the one TRump seems to be supporting > **[hadrian's wall cross section - Bing](https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=hadrian%27s%2Bwall%2Bcross%2Bsection&view=detailv2&qpvt=hadrian%27s%2Bwall%2Bcross%2Bsection&id=CEF17D1DF2D74649192B2C588D33C449577BE8AE&selectedIndex=10&ccid=wTeIs0YE&simid=608022548441137944&thid=OIP.wTeIs0YEd_-3iLiFKjlPTAEsEO&ajaxhist=0)** > > Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you. ---
**Author:** ![Lifeaging](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Lifeaging](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lifeaging)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/28 "2017-01-25T17:48:23Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Once again, the proposal is to tax illegal aliens. If we know that someone is an illegal alien and tax that person instead of deport that person _isn’t that indicating that the current government would rather have them here than deport them?_ How funny is it that we talk about a physical wall, when a economic wall is the solution.:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/29 "2017-01-25T17:50:12Z")
It’s a great wall, the best wall ever people are saying. So great that nothing gets by it. Once the wall is built we can pay for it with the money we save by firing all the border patrol agents. Border patrol is going to get tired of all the winning. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/30 "2017-01-25T17:54:39Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The wall is all political theater. Everyone, I mean everyone, with an ounce of sense knows that a maximum-security prison style wall won’t happen. (And it won’t stop a lot of illegal immigration. A lot of people come in other ways.) > > The sooner everybody forgets about it, the better. Maybe it is all theater and will not happen but he’s making a show of it: > [@](#): > > President Trump is signing two executive actions related to immigration and border security Wednesday, moving ahead with his plan to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. A White House official has confirmed the plan to NPR’s Tamara Keith. Congressional sources from both parties say drafts of the actions have been circulating on Capitol Hill. > > SOURCE: ['A Nation Without Borders Is Not A Nation': Trump Moves Forward With U.S.-Mexico Wall : The Two-Way : NPR](http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/25/511565740/trump-expected-to-order-building-of-u-s-mexico-wall-wednesday) ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/31 "2017-01-25T18:02:01Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I believe Theresa May is keeping a close watch in case she has to rebuild Hadrian’s Wall. And Scotland’s going to pay for it! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/32 "2017-01-25T18:05:43Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > In the Cayman Islands the government imposed a tax on remittance service international transmission of funds such as Western Union or Moneygram. Hasn’t stopped the expat workers lining up every payday to send money home. They are paying the tax, currently set at 2% with a maximum of CI$10 (US$12.50) per transaction. > > A similar tax in the US would likely provide a steady stream of income that otherwise would have largely gone to Mexico. I presume these are legal workers, and with jobs above minimum wage, and the tax is on remittances sent to any country. It would seem that a tax limited to remittances sent by illegal residents just to Mexico would be very easy to get around. First of all, how are you going to know it’s being sent by an illegal resident? Second, even if you could figure out who’s illegal, most illegal residents should be able to find some legal resident to send the money through. And if it’s just remittances sent to Mexico, you could transfer them through some third country. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/33 "2017-01-25T18:06:25Z")
I really thought that the border wall would be an idea that got dropped quickly, like the idea of prosecuting Hilary. Now that this thread is not in GQ, what do y’all think about it? I’m just blown away that he actually is wanting it, it seems like such a horrible idea all the way around. Is Congress dumb enough to go along with it? I’ll make an early prediction that they will fund short segments of walls, near places where the most people cross illegally. The distance covered will be on the order of 1% of the total border distance. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/34 "2017-01-25T18:24:33Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Maybe it is all theater and will not happen but he’s making a show of it: I don’t think there’s any doubt he’s going to continue the policy of building barriers (fences and/or walls) along particularly vulnerable sections of the border. ([This article](http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/news/the-phantom-triple-fence-fact-check/) has some photos of existing barriers in San Diego.) The theater part is “Mexico is going to pay for it.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/35 "2017-01-25T18:51:57Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > A 100% tax? I just heard “tax” without a specified amount. I’ve also seen a proposal to [block (not confiscate) wire transfers out of the country unless the person making the transfer can prove legal status.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/politics/memo-explains-how-donald-trump-plans-to-pay-for-border-wall/2007/?tid=a_inl) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/36 "2017-01-25T19:02:41Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > Any way to do this legally? > > By the way, I’m also skeptical of the OP’s cost estimate but I think it’s a bad idea even if it costs much less. Perhaps money in possession of illegal immigrants is the proceeds of crime - working in the country when not permitted to do so. Sending it to Mexico is therefore money laundering. They also simply work their way through every bank account in America looking for ones belonging to illegals. It’s a great country (again) and the laws can be made to do whatever Il Duce wants. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/37 "2017-01-25T19:09:05Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I just heard “tax” without a specified amount. I’ve also seen a proposal to [block (not confiscate) wire transfers out of the country unless the person making the transfer can prove legal status.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/politics/memo-explains-how-donald-trump-plans-to-pay-for-border-wall/2007/?tid=a_inl) So how do you prove that the person making the transfer is the owner of the money being transferred? It seems like that proposal just provides a great new business opportunity for people with impeccable legal credentials and relatives (real or imaginary) south of the border. The average remittance is fairly small (~$300), and it’s no great hurdle to prove legal access to that much money. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/38 "2017-01-25T19:11:16Z")
Look, Remittances to Mexico are huge. Mexico absolutely needs those, without them the nation would be hurting. > **[Mexico Got More Money From Remittances Than from Oil Revenues in 2015](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/mexico-got-more-money-remittances-oil-revenues-2015-n510346)** > > The central bank reported Mexicans overseas sent nearly $24.8 billion home in 2015, overtaking oil revenues for the first time as a source of foreign income. It’s about $25Billion. so a 1% tax (which is already in place in some states) would bring in $250Million a year. Yes, that would pay for the wall if they took their time. A 2% levy would bring in 500MM, a 4% a cool billion. The wall should cost 15-25 B, or 20 years with a 4% levy. Keep the levy low enuf and it would be too costly to avoid it. > **[Could a President Trump Really Impound All Immigrant Payments to Mexico? |...](https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/08/donald-trump-remittance-plan-evaluation/)** > > A Trump administration could erect a lot of legal, regulatory, and logistical obstacles to transferring money from the U.S. to Mexico. But that would enrage banks, might fail. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/39 "2017-01-25T19:21:55Z")
When the GOP controlled all of Washington last time during the Bush years they looked into building a wall like Trump proposed and determined the cost and maintenance of made it completely impractical. If anything the costs are higher now. ETA: This is beyond the fact that the is inherent racism in wanting the wall; illegal immigration from mexico is at a low point; and most don’t cross the boarder that way any way. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144/40 "2017-01-25T19:24:17Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Look, Remittances to Mexico are huge. Mexico absolutely needs those, without them the nation would be hurting. I fail to see how taxing people living in the US actually qualifies as “making Mexico pay.” If I plan to give you $10, but instead I deduct $1 from that amount and give it to, say, Cecil, have you given Cecil $1? Not in any universe that I have lived in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-understand-how-mexico-will-pay-for-the-wall/778144.md?page=3)