A Wall of ‘Fake News’

President Donald Trump has declared a national state of emergency to achieve the construction of the wall on the border with Mexico, one of his main campaign promises. He has transformed a humanitarian crisis at the border, temporarily unresolved, into a national security issue – a national emergency – with this justification: “We’re talking about an invasion of our country, with drugs, with human traffickers, with all types of criminals and gangs … ”

Since the beginning of his administration, President Trump’s wall has caused a series of standoffs; above all, an unending struggle between the executive and legislative branches.

After congressional refusal to free up $5 billion to be earmarked for construction of the wall, a December 2018 budget freeze lasting 35 days was initiated to pressure Democrats. This was the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

With the declaration of a state of emergency, the president will have exceptional powers that allow him to utilize resources from other military projects to achieve his objective: $8 billion for the construction of a border wall.

Since 1976, this method has been used 58 times; 31 of them are still in force. The oldest was declared by President Jimmy Carter and is still active. So far, both outstanding and terminated declarations have been related to international problems, primarily with North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Venezuela.

Certainly, this decision will provoke a series of lawsuits, disputes in Congress and court verdicts that could give rise to a crisis among the three branches of government.

How real is the invasion that President Trump talks about so much? In 2000, a record number, 1.6 million, were detained at the southern border. According to recent information, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detained a total of 396,579 at the southern border in 2018, and 303,916 in 2017.

Although the numbers for 2018 are larger than those for 2017, it is clear that there has been a significant drop in the past 18 years in the number of persons detained while crossing the border.

In addition, illegal immigrants enter not only along the border with Mexico, but also on the long border with Canada and the U.S. coastlines and inland waterways.

Moreover, according to information from the Department of Homeland Security and the Center for Migration Studies, “More undocumented residents in the U.S. arrived with a visa and then overstayed, than crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in every year since 2007.”

Given these realities, it is no secret that the U.S. has been very good at justifying its wars and interventions in the world. But, that a president might invent an invasion of drugs, terrorists and criminals on the southern border, just to fulfill his most important campaign promise, is an indication that Donald Trump has gone too far in defense of his “perceived national interests.”

Beyond shadow of a doubt, the populist rhetoric is directed toward his fellow Republicans and voters at a time when potential candidates for the presidential election in 2020 are beginning to appear.

Nevertheless, one thing is certain: Trump has lost the battle not only with Congress, but also with Mexico, which is not going to pay for the wall.