Trump cuts foreign aid, threatens to close Mexico border

By JONATHAN LEMIRE, NOMAAN MERCHANT and CATHERINE LUCEY
March 30, 2019

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Threatening drastic action against Mexico, President Donald Trump declared he is likely to shut down America’s southern border next week unless Mexican authorities immediately halt all illegal immigration. The president, who also cut U.S. aid to three Central American nations whose citizens are fleeing north, emphasized “I am not kidding around” about closing the border, even though such a severe move could hit the economies of both countries.

“It could mean all trade” with Mexico, Trump said when questioned on Friday by reporters in Florida. “We will close it for a long time.”

Though Trump has previously threatened to close the border and has not followed through, his administration moved to cut direct aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The State Department said in a statement that it will suspend 2017 and 2018 payments to the trio of nations that have been home to some of the migrant caravans that have marched through Mexico to the U.S. border.

-snip-

A substantial closure could have an especially heavy impact on cross-border communities from San Diego to South Texas, as well as supermarkets that sell Mexican produce, factories that rely on imported parts, and other businesses across the U.S.

The U.S. and Mexico trade about $1.7 billion in goods daily, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which said closing the border would be “an unmitigated economic debacle” that would threaten 5 million American jobs.

-snip-