Donald Trump’s boldest promise as the GOP nominee is to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and have Mexico pay for it. Trump announced this during his candidacy speech on June 16, 2015. Trump said,”I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall.”

The question one might ask Trump is, “How would you accomplish this if elected president?” According to PolitiFact, they examined the logistics of Trump’s promise, interviewing immigration experts about the specifics of his proposal and possible challenges.

Trump stated that the wall could cost between $8 billion to $12 billion. It would be made of precast concrete. The wall would rise 35 to 50 feet, or higher. The wall doesn’t need to run the the whole 2,000 miles of the border, but at least half of it because of natural barriers that are there. The estimate for how much it would cost to maintain and add fencing to the remaining portion of the border would be an additional $5.1 billion to $25 billion.  Obviously, the high end is far more than Trump expects to get out of Mexico.

There are many factors regarding Trump’s border wall. One issue is that the land along the Texas side of the border belongs to private citizens. They may argue that they’re not receiving enough money from the government for their property being seized. Another issue, is how the wall would be shaped. The concrete wall would not allow border patrol agents to visibly see immigrants who are attempting to cross illegally. Another concern is how Trump will make Mexico hand over enough construction money. This may put pressure on people who work in the United States, that send money back to Mexico. Trump says he would introduce a “proposed rule” where no immigrant would be able to send money outside the United States unless they show documentation proving their legal status. The proposed rule would not go into effect if Mexico makes a one-time payment of $5 billion to $10 billion.

Trump estimates that the Mexican economy gains about $24 billion a year from people in the United States. The majority of it may come from undocumented immigrants. Although difficult to determine, a good deal of that money may come from undocumented immigrants

Trump then spoke about how Mexico will protest U.S. attempts to deny undocumented immigrants from sending money to Mexico. A valid point that may be very possible, is that someone with legal status may send the money to Mexico on behalf of the undocumented immigrant, or send money in cash with people traveling to Mexico.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto stated that Mexico would not pay for the wall. During a July 10 interview with CNN, Peña Nieto mentioned that U.S. security is linked with the security of its neighboring countries.  

Trump claims that he would generate money for the wall by increasing the costs for visas and border crossing cards, and by implementing trade tariffs.

The Republican candidate feels his plan is ideal for securing our borders. It is noted that this plan follows efforts by previous administrations to strengthen fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.