Kerby Anderson

Donald Trump has said that he will build a wall and force Mexico to pay for it. Although that might sound extreme, if you look at a map of boundary walls and fences published in the Economist, you find that other nations have done the same thing.

For example, Mexico announced it would create a barrier between its country and Guatemala. Brazil eventually could have a boundary barrier between it and every other country that borders it in order to deal with immigration and trafficking.

Saudi Arabia has barriers with Yemen, and plans to have similar barriers with Oman, Qatar, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates for security and to prevent smuggling. Hungary has a fence and barriers to protect it from immigration. Other European countries like Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden have also announced similar plans.

Algeria has a barrier between it and Morocco and has others planned in the future. India has a boundary between it and Pakistan for security reasons and also has other barriers planned in the future. Probably the best-known barrier is the one between North Korea and South Korea.

The big question for Donald Trump has been how he would force Mexico to pay for a border fence, especially since the Mexican economy seems to be struggling. His two-page memo to the Washington Post outlines his plan. He would threaten to cut off a portion of the funds send to Mexico through money transfers.

Nearly $25 billion was send home by Mexicans living abroad in 2015. Trump argues that the majority of that comes from illegal aliens. Of course, that figure includes cash from around the world, and not just the United. States. But it does represent a significant amount of income into Mexico and could be used as an incentive.

If Donald Trump is elected and pushes forward with his plan to build a wall, it won’t be the only border wall or barrier in the world.