Trump moving forward with border wall, weighs refugee cuts
President Donald Trump will use his executive authority Wednesday to jumpstart construction of a US-Mexico border wall, one of his signature campaign promises. He is also expected to target so-called sanctuary cities and potentially restrict the flow of refugees to the United States, according to administration officials.
The president will sign the first actions -- including the measure authorizing work on the wall—during a trip to the Department of Homeland Security Wednesday afternoon. He'll also move to increase the number of border patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Trump, in an interview Wednesday with ABC News, said he expected construction of the wall to begin within months. US taxpayers are expected to pay for the upfront costs, though Trump continues to assert that Mexico will reimburse the money through unspecified means.
"There will be a payment, it will be in a form, perhaps a complicated form," Trump said, adding that negotiations with Mexico would begin soon. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has insisted his country will not pay for a wall, is to meet with Trump at the White House next week.
