Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Americans refuse to give up their land for Donald Trump's Mexico border wall

Americans refuse to give up their land for Donald Trump's Mexico border wall

President Donald Trump wants landowners 'bullied' into handing over their properties so he can fulfil his election promise of building a 'big, beautiful wall' along the US border with Mexico

Standing on the banks of the Rio Grande, Guillermo Caldera knows he is in the “fight of his life”. For 20 years, he has built his business fixing up damaged cars off the streets of Laredo, Texas, to ship across the border to his countrymen in Mexico, at prices they can afford.

“I’ve built my business here from the ground up,” says the 46-year-old. “Now they want to take that ground away.”

Guillermo’s workshop stands within feet of the river that acts as the border between the US and his native Mexico.

He is one of dozens of landowners who Donald Trump wants “bullied” into handing over their properties to make way for his “big, beautiful wall”.

But the determined dad-of-six, who is now a US citizen, is fighting back – taking his own government and Trump to court to stop their plans.


President Donald Trump is trying to fulfill his election promise of building a wall


And he is far from alone.

In 2016, Trump’s signature policy to win the White House was the promise of a 30ft border wall.

At rallies he encouraged chants of “Build the wall. Build the wall” from supporters, while telling them they would not pay a dime towards it and that Mexico would foot the bill.

Fours years on – despite his repeated boasts of “promises made, promises kept” – not one peso has been handed to the US for his dream barrier.

So far, only five miles has been built.

Yet taxpayers have now shelled out more than £9billion and counting, as the President was forced to raid money from the military when Congress denied him the funds.

Repeated setbacks have not deterred Trump’s assault on immigration.

One of his most damning policies is separating migrant children from their parents as they crossed the border.


Elsa Hull said Trump is trying to militarise the border


In last week’s final Presidential debate with White House rival Joe Biden, Trump’s lack of humanity shone through when discussing the 545 children torn from their parents’ arms.

Asked about the issue by moderator Kristen Welker, he boasted: “They’re so well taken care of. They are in facilities that are so clean.”

Biden called the actions of Trump’s administration “criminal”.

The former Vice President said: “It violates every notion of who we are as a nation.

“Those kids are alone with nowhere to go.”

Trump, who insisted during the debate he was “the least racist person in the room”, then attacked the policy by local enforcement to let those they catch walk free until their case is heard, rather than locking them up.


The President promised a 30ft border wall along the border

Falsely claiming most never showed up at court, he said: “They never come back. Only the really… I hate to say this, but those with the lowest IQ… they might come back.”

The comment drew an immediate backlash on Twitter. Trump has questioned the IQs of others in the past, many of whom were people of colour.

In reality, 99% of asylum seekers have appeared for their hearings over the last year, according to an immigration think tank at Syracuse University.

Trump’s lies are something people in Laredo know only too well. Outside its courthouse is a bright yellow Defund The Wall mural in 30ft letters. Nowhere along the 2,000-mile border is there greater opposition to his plans.

Less than 50 yards away across the Rio Grande is the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo. The cities share a 123-year-old tradition, holding the nation’s largest celebration of George Washington’s birthday.

They come together in an abrazo – a hug – on the bridge that separates them, for a month-long display of both patriotism and binational unity.

The sister cities feel a sense of the unbreakable bond between them. They call it “los dos Laredos”, a symbol of one community sharing two sides.

But the clock is ticking in this crucible of national friendship.


US border agents patrolling the Rio Grande


If Trump wins next week’s election, the wall, he brags, is coming.

The only thing people here want is a Biden win, to save them being caged in by 32 miles of steel and concrete.

All along the Texas border, there is outrage. Who is Trump, people ask, to seize their private property on land they have occupied for generations?

But in Laredo the anger is especially strong. A city of 260,000, Laredo lives off international trade – and prides itself on its 265-year history.

To defend that heritage, local officials have worked to slow down the Trump administration.

In January, the city council denied US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) permission to survey about 1,000 acres of property along the river. Federal attorneys then sued for access.


A section of the border fence in Eagle Pass, Texas


To justify their plans, Trump and his administration characterise Laredo as a crime-riddled city, at the mercy of cartels who send over killers, rapists and child-smugglers in their droves.

The CBP, which oversees border security, says the new wall is needed because “the Laredo sector is an area of high illegal activity”.

They talk of having stopped more than 21,750 illegal aliens and 30,150lb of drugs in this financial year.

And they insist: “These projects will improve Laredo sector’s ability to impede and deny illegal border crossings and drug and human smuggling.”

But while Nuevo Laredo, in Mexico, is plagued with violence, the difference across the water is like night and day.

Locals say Trump would have anyone believe border cities such as El Paso, Brownville and Laredo are extremely violent and in need of a wall.

Yet the FBI says Rio Grande Valley, on which they sit, is exceptionally safe.


Laredo lives off international trade – and prides itself on its 265-year history 


Of the 24 Texas metro areas ranked by the bureau, Brownsville comes in last, with 240 violent crimes per 100,000 people. El Paso and Laredo place at 13 and 10 respectively – while the murder rate in each is incredibly low.

Campaigner Elsa Hull, a riverside landowner, says: “It’s not a war zone. Nor do we have an invasion.

“Trump is trying to militarise the border. It’s all hyped up to the people that don’t live here and they’re buying into all these lies.

“I live with my two teenage daughters. A bunch of women right next to the river – we don’t fear for our safety.

“Sure there are problem areas where people cross, but if border patrol wants to secure the borders, concentrate on the areas that are the problem. A wall is just going to divide people, which is exactly what Trump wants.


Guillermo Caldera said he is in the “fight of his life”


“The majority of the problem, the drugs, that’s a billion-dollar industry.

“You seriously think people are crossing billions of dollars of drugs in a backpack swimming across the river? That’s ridiculous.”

The federal agency has given contracts for the project to an Alabama firm and to the builder of a controversial private border wall.

But most of the land is still in private hands. Elsa, 52, adds: “They want to put up this freaking 30ft monstrosity, and the enforcement zone is as wide as a four-lane highway – the town will be wiped out.

“They’re awarding these construction contracts but they don’t have the land yet. That’s their tactics. They’re trying to bully people, to scare people.”

It was announced last year that the entire city would be walled off, galvanising the grassroots coalition.

Asked about the election, mum-of-two Elsa said: “All will be lost if Trump gets another four years.

“This administration is the worst thing that’s ever happened to our country. It’s just going downhill.

“Every inch of progress we might’ve made on environmental issues, human rights issues… they’re being trashed.

“He’s a liar. He’s a racist. He’s a fascist dictator. He is evil. He has to go. He is not welcome here.”

The new border wall contract is valued at about £13million per mile.

That contrasts with the £75 offered to people such as Guillermo to access their land for a year – or the “paltry” sum on the table to take it from them.

But for the businessman, it would not matter if they offered him £75,000 – his land is not for sale at any cost.

He said: “We should build bridges, not barriers. I was born and raised in Nuevo Laredo, my family still live there. Do I want to see them through a cage? Isn’t that what Trump puts kids in?”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×