‘El Chapo Act’ introduced to fund Trump’s border wall
A new bill is being introduced in an attempt to fund the border wall US President Donald Trump had promised to build on the Mexican border.
Known as the El Chapo Act, the bill was introduced by Trump’s Republican contender in the 2016 presidential election, Senator Ted Cruz.
The bill, officially titled the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order Act, references Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico’s most notorious drug lord, who was extradited to the United States in January.
The US government is seeking a $14 billion forfeiture order over prosecution of Guzman.
The drug lord is an escape artist who managed to break out of prison twice in Mexico.
“Fourteen billion dollars will go a long way toward building a wall that will keep Americans safe and hinder the illegal flow of drugs, weapons and individuals across our southern border,” Cruz said on Tuesday.
The US president, who had vowed to build a wall on the country’s southern border and make Mexico pay for it, has been pushing the Republican-controlled Congress to include funding for it in the next spending bill.
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US lawmakers have to pass the upcoming spending bill on Friday to avoid a government shutdown.
“If the threat of the wall is removed … our negotiations can continue and we can hopefully resolve all of the outstanding issues by Friday,” said Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Mexcio called the plan to build a wall on its northern an "unfriendly, hostile" act and a "bad idea."
"If the negotiation on other themes — immigration, the border, trade — isn't satisfactory to Mexico's interests, we will have to review our existing cooperation," said Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray on Tuesday. "This would be especially in the security areas ... and that involves the national immigration agency, the federal police and of course, the armed forces."
He further suggested that Mexico was considering imposing fees on Americas intending to enter the country.
"We could explore — not necessarily a visa, that could impede a lot of people from coming to Mexico — but we could perhaps (have) a fee associated with entry. This is something that I'm sure will be part of our discussion, and I believe we can find points of agreement," Videgaray said.
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