President Donald Trump fulfilled an early campaign promise Wednesday, signing an executive order to start construction of a border wall between the United States and Mexico.
“We are in the middle of a crisis on our southern border,” Trump said during a speech at the Department of Homeland Security Wednesday afternoon.
The border will make both Mexico and the United States more secure by disrupting cartel networks, Trump said.
“A nation without borders is not a nation,” he said. “Beginning today, the United States gets back control of its borders.”
Trump said he believes his administration will strengthen the relationship between Mexico and the United States. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer reiterated that Mexico would pay for the wall, “one way or the other.”
Trump’s executive order also halted the federal funding of sanctuary cities, which have policies designed to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Chapel Hill does have some sanctuary city policies, although it is not officially designated as a sanctuary city.
