Donald Trump repeats vow to build wall on US-Mexico border

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio. (AFP photo)

US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has reiterated his vows to build a wall along the US-Mexican border in a bid to stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
"We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence, and to stop the drugs from pouring into our communities," Trump said in the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday.
The Republican presidential nominee has already stated that Mexico sends “criminals” and “rapists” across the border and that he will force the neighboring government to pay for the giant wall to keep illegal migrants out.
Trump's proposal of the construction of a 2,000-mile wall on the US-Mexico border has been met with strong criticism both at home and abroad.

US President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference at the White House in Washington DC, on July 20, 2016. (AFP)

In May, US President Barack Obama slammed the Republican nominee’s incendiary rhetoric against immigrants and the border wall construction plan.
"Suggesting that we can build an endless wall along our borders and blame our challenges on immigrants, that does not just run counter to our history as the world melting pot," Obama said.
"It contradicts the evidence that our growth and our innovation and our dynamism has always been spurred by our ability to attract strivers from every corner of the globe," he said.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto also rejected Trump’s proposal as to the payment for the wall by his country and likened the real estate mogul to German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
“I have to say that I regret (the plan), and of course, I can't agree with this American politician's position," Nieto said.
"That's how Mussolini got in, that's how Hitler got in, they took advantage of a situation, a problem perhaps, which humanity was going through at the time, after an economic crisis," he said. "We don't want that happening anywhere in the world."
Meanwhile, Pope Francis questioned Trump's Christianity over his call to build a border wall with Mexico, saying, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the gospel."

A woman speaks with her husband through the US-Mexico border fence in Playas de Tijuana, northwestern Mexico, on July 3, 2016. (AFP)

In his acceptance speech for the Republican Party’s nomination, the New York businessman also implicitly pointed out to the banning of Muslims from entering the US, saying, “We must immediately suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such time as proven vetting mechanisms have been put in place.”
Trump made the remarks despite condemnations by Muslim and human rights groups as well as his Democratic rivals who describe the proposal as divisive, counterproductive and contrary to American values.