No, Mexico is not paying for it, as then-candidate Trump promised. Congress has repeatedly refused to fund money for any large-scale new wall construction. The American taxpayer doesn’t want to pay for it either, but in the end we will, at least in the short run.

Trump doesn’t care where he gets the money, so why not grab ‘em by the budget!

Trump has taken monies budgeted by Congress for other purposes and used them to build the wall. He declared a dubious national emergency to re-appropriate $3.6 billion from various departments, including $2.5 billion diverted from the Department of Defense. The DOD funds were slated for schools, air traffic control towers, hazardous material storage, waste treatment, fire stations, airfield security, weapon maintenance, gate security, and other projects.

Let’s be clear: Progressive Democrats of America stands in complete opposition to a racist, wasteful, and expensive border wall that will seize private property of American citizens, irreparably damage fragile ecosystems protected by local and state as well as federal law, erect a symbol of racist intolerance, and be ineffective in its stated purpose of stopping migration at the southern border.

So why does this grossly over-priced, and inefficient wall project keep persisting in the Trump administration’s imagination and planning sessions?

As always, follow the money. The Border/Industrial Complex makes millions every year, militarizing the border and fomenting fears of an invasion by immigrants. Trump’s friends in the private prisons industry and in wall construction are making hundreds of millions and we taxpayers are paying for it.

Our mission is clear: We must be working overtime to help elect bold progressives not beholden to corporate interests. It is PDA’s commitment and we need your help.

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