Mexico has dismissed US threats to impose tariffs linked to its ability to stop asylum-seekers from reaching US soil. A senior official said the strategy that Mexico put forward has been successful.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/E. Espejel
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Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard on Friday said the number of irregular migrants attempting to reach the US had been cut by half since June as part of a US-Mexico deal to curb migration.
The White House has also pressured the Mexican government to sign a "safe third country" agreement that would allow the US to send asylum-seekers back to Mexico.
"I do not think there will be a threat of tariffs because there is a 56% reduction," said Ebrard. "We do not consider that the safe third country is acceptable for Mexico and even less with the results that we have."
Mexico deployed more than 25,000 National Guard militarized police to its northern and southern borders to clamp down on irregular migration as part of the deal.
"We're showing that the strategy that Mexico put forward has been successful," Ebrard said.
US President Donald Trump has ordered the start of the construction of a wall along the US border with Mexico. The promised wall would dwarf many massive –and very expensive – walls around the world.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
"We are going to build a wall"
The border wall with Mexico was the signature promise of now President Donald Trump's election campaign, standing out from the storm of controversial and often contradictory campaign statements. Once elected, Trump quickly set the wheels in motion by ordering the construction to start. Experiences from around the world, however, show that massive barriers do not come easy - or cheap.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Stern
"…and Mexico is going to pay for it."
The so-called "Tortilla Wall" already spans some 700 miles (1,126 kilometers) of the US-Mexico border. Experts believe that the US would need to pay between $15 billion and $25 billion in order to fully wall-off the entire southern frontier. US President Trump has said it would cost less and that Mexico would foot the bill.
Image: dpa
Wall of fear in Jerusalem
Israel started building its own controversial barrier in 2002, with construction continuing to this day. The structure is expected to stretch at least 650 kilometers (403 miles) across the Holy Land, most of it consisting of an electric wire fence. Observers believe its cost has already topped $2.6 billion (2.4 billion euros), with maintenance costs reaching $260 million per year.
Image: picture-alliance/Landov
The symbol of divided city
The Berlin Wall spanned 155 kilometers (91 miles) before its demolition in 1991. Unlike the many other walls across the world, the barrier was built by East Germany to keep the would-be emigrants inside the country. It cost about $25 million to build in 1961, equivalent to $200 million (almost 186.5 million euros) in present-day money.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Kumm
The Korean DMZ - the most fortified border in the world
Capitalist South Korea and its Communist northern neighbor are divided by barbed wire and watchtowers, as well as around 1 million landmines. Following the 1953 truce, both Pyongyang and Seoul agreed to pull their troops 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) away inland, creating a demilitarized zone along the border that stretches 248 kilometers (154 miles).
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
'Peace lines' run through Belfast
A total of 48 "peace lines" separate Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods in Belfast, a legacy of centuries-long religious war. The barriers including high brick walls, concrete structures, barb wire and metal bars. These barricades include gates to allow for circulation of people and traffic, but the gates close after nightfall.
