Readers' Blog: Wall to block the victims of US diplomatic interference

The declaration by Mr Trump of a state of emergency in order to fund his wall marks a dangerous step and calls into question the efficacy of the checks on executive power supposedly built into the structures of governance in the US. The move either indicates that Trump is ignorant of the scope of his office or is deliberately pushing the envelope. Both are worrying developments.

There is a tragic irony at play here also in that the wall, for which he has a childish obsession, is to prevent entry into the US of thousands of refugees from countries still bearing the scars of years of disastrous US interference in Central America. Many of the individuals travelling towards the US border through Mexico are rural dwellers from Guatemala and El Salvador who have been violently moved from their traditional areas either as collateral damage in regional drug wars or to make way for sugar or palm oil plantations funded by international development loans.