Washington, US President Donald Trump threatened to close the nation’s southern border with Mexico next week, amid feud over illegal immigration.
“If Mexico doesn’t immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our southern border, I will be closing the border, or large sections of the border, next week,” Xinhua quoted Trump as saying on Twitter.
He claimed closing off border crossings, key avenues for trade with Mexico, “would be a good thing!”
The threat comes a day after Trump criticised Mexico and several Central American nations for not halting illegal immigrants heading north to cross the US border.
“Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country. They are all talk and no action,” Trump said in a tweet Thursday. “Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do Nothing.”
“May close the Southern Border!” he added.
The US President’s remarks stood in contrast with those of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who has thanked Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador for their efforts to help the United States secure the border.
“America shares common cause with the countries of Central America in confronting these challenges,” Nielsen said in a statement Thursday.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has rejected Trump’s criticism.
“We respect President Trump’s position, and we are going to help,” Lopez Obrador told reporters on Thursday. “This is a problem of the US, or it’s a problem of the Central American countries. It’s not up to us Mexicans, no.”
Trump repeatedly threatened to seal the southern border late last year, when the White House and Congressional Democrats couldn’t reach an agreement over his demand for billions of US dollars in funding for a wall along the US-Mexico border, a plank of his 2016 presidential campaign.
