President Donald Trump could initiate chaos and grave economic disruption by finally making good on his threat to slam shut the southern border, yet he’s clearly tempted to do it anyway, CNN writes.
Such a dramatic gesture would fulfill many of Trump’s most fundamental short-term political goals and indulge a domineering personality and a desire to please his most vehement supporters that drives so much of his behavior as President, CNN notes.
According to Politico, days after Trump renewed his long-standing threat to shut down the southern border entirely, even administration officials and congressional Republicans were bewildered and guessing at his next move on a defining issue of his presidency.
And some Hill Republicans warned that any dramatic disruption to regular traffic across the U.S.-Mexico border could bring Trump into a new confrontation with his own party, whose leaders warn that closing parts or all of the border would wreak economic havoc.
“Our detention areas are maxed out & we will take no more illegals. Next step is to close the Border!” Trump tweeted on Monday. According to CNN, his anti-immigration rhetoric and willingness to flout international norms suggest he cares little about the humanitarian and diplomatic implications of such a radical move, which he has threatened to take as early as this week.
Yet the swift and severe economic impact of closing the border – on industries like auto manufacturing, retail and fresh produce, and on U.S. exports to a top trading partner, Mexico – could finally stay the President’s hand and suggests he could be bluffing again.
There were also signs Monday that the administration could be using the threat of a border closure to leverage more action from regional governments to stop the flight of migrants, when Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior adviser, said the President was not quite ready to decide on a border closure.
“We will see how much progress we are able to make in the ensuing days, in terms of getting more enforcement with Central and South America, so that we are not getting swamped by meritless asylum claims predominantly from Central America,” Miller told top administration immigration surrogates on a conference call, according to notes taken by a listener and obtained by CNN.
Trump closing the border could have “catastrophic” results, one official warns.
A border closure could immediately hike prices of fruits and vegetables all over the United States at a time of the growing season when Mexico is an especially important source of America’s food. Within a few days, shortages could ripple around the country, including in Trump’s political heartlands of the Midwest and the South.
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