During a brief press conference at Camp David on Saturday afternoon, flanked by GOP congressional leaders and cabinet secretaries, President Donald Trump insisted that Mexico will pay for a wall along the United States’ southern border.
“I believe that Mexico will pay for the wall. I have a very good relationship with Mexico. As you know, we’re negotiating NAFTA. We’ll see how that goes,” Trump said. “But Mexico will pay. In some form, Mexico will pay for the wall.”
Trump’s comment came as he explained his stance on legislation to restore the protections from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allowed certain young, undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. without fear of deportation.
The President stressed to reporters that any DACA legislation should include funding for the border wall. He also said that bill should address “chain migration” and the visa lottery program.
“The wall is going to happen, or we’re not going to have DACA,” he said.
The Trump administration has asked for $18 billion over 10 years to expand the border wall. The administration wants to build 316 miles of new barrier and replace or bolster 407 miles of existing barrier with those funds.
