Divide and Rule: Political Impact of President Trump’s US-Mexico Border Wall Initiative

Abstract

While announcing his participation in 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised, if elected, to build a wall along the US‑Mexican border to limit the flow of illegal immigrants from Latin America to the United States. During the campaign, he repeatedly stressed the necessity to control the situation at the border, which he indicated as one of the biggest threats for US national security, claiming that Mexico should pay for the construction of the wall. After winning the election, President Trump decided to fulfill his promise and signed an executive order enabling the wall to be erected. During four years of his tenure, the wall was built in almost half of the planned length It had impact not only on the flow of immigrants from Latin America, but also on the debate about U.S. immigration policy, as well as on the bilateral relations with Mexico. The purpose of the article is to analyze political consequences of putting up the wall, both in the US and Mexico, and to assess the impact of Trump’s immigration policy on the relations between both countries.