Approximate position of the border wall (green)

Mexico City (dpo) - As soon as it became clear yesterday that Donald Trump would in fact occupy the White House, Mexico started building a giant wall along its border with the USA. The length of the border wall is expected to be almost 2,000 miles.The ambitiously titled construction project "una pared para proteger contra Donald Trump" ("a wall to protect us from Donald Trump"), is intended to protect the country from the wave of refugees soon expected from the US.According to the Mexican Government, experts fear that there will be a humanitarian crisis following the New York multimillionaire's election this November."We assume that over the next few days, around 5 million people will flee for their lives", predicted refugee expert Fulgencio Gutiérrez. "Then, when Trump's undiplomatic ways provoke the first wars and stall the economy, further millions could follow."Politicians are afraid of these hordes. “I am no racist, but the USA has more than 320 million inhabitants, quite a few of which are trigger-happy and difficult to integrate”, explained Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. “They'll just overrun us if we don't take protective measures.”Construction of the border wall is currently top priority in Mexico. It will reach a height of around 13 m and be equipped with state-of-the-art security systems. The Mexican Department for Commerce is of the opinion that by creating tens and thousands of new jobs, the ambitious construction project will have a positive impact on the economy, too.Canada, the USA’s northern neighbour, also expressed grave concern. According to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada is considering building a wall of its own along the Canadian-American border without delay. This is intended to deter US refugees that have been rejected in Mexico from streaming north in their hundreds of thousands and invading the country in force.Read the German version HERE.