Special Report: America first: the challenge for Mexico (ISSN 17414474)

Donald Trump’s plan to build an extended border wall between the US and Mexico is perhaps the most controversial and deeply resented aspect of his policies on bilateral relations. The idea of a border wall figured prominently during the election campaign. It was frequently referred to as a device to keep out Mexican migrants, drugs, and criminality. A range of claims were made (notoriously, Trump made inconsistent statements about the proposed height of the wall), but few concrete details were forthcoming. It was not entirely clear whether what was being proposed was something symbolic and metaphorical – principally a device of electoral politics – or a real physical structure.