Interview: Brazilian expert says U.S.- Mexico wall to destabilize LatAm countries

The wall that U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday officially ordered to be built along the 3,200-km U.S.- Mexico border will disrupt trade and destabilize Latin American countries, according to a Brazilian political observer.

"The announcement of the construction of the wall, like all of the measures taken in his first five days in office, confirms yet again that Trump means the extremist, tough and aggressive things he says," Mauricio Santoro, professor of international relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Trump plans to carry out his most radical campaign promises, despite the fact that they will have a very negative impact on trade and political stability throughout the Americas, including Brazil, Santoro added.

Trump signed an executive order to "build a large physical barrier on the southern border" to keep out illegal migrants and drug traffickers, according to the White House.

The decree also calls for expanding detention facilities to hold migrants slated for deportation.

The move sends "a clear message" to all Latin American countries and the sizable Latino community in the United States, which represents some 20 percent of the U.S. population.

"Trump is sending a message to the continent, to show it that it will be treated very roughly and aggressively," said Santoro.

Santoro hopes that the United States will begin to "reject" whoever doesn't have his papers in order, in addition to not renewing residence permits and limiting work visas.

Traditionally, most Latin American migrants to the United States have come from Mexico and Central American countries, where the employment outlook is bleak and most jobs are in the underground economy, so working illegally abroad is not that different.

Brazilian migration to the United States was small, but has increased in recent decades, according to the U.S. Migration Policy Institute, which estimated that more than 330,000 Brazilian immigrants lived there in 2014.

"Not all Brazilians in the United States are authorized to be there," said Santoro, adding there is a "real possibility" that a crackdown will "spark a massive wave of deportations."

The forced repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Brazilians would "directly effect" communities in such states as Minas Gerais or Goias, which thrive on the remittances sent back by Brazilians working in the United States, he said.

The same is true for Mexico and Central American countries, where remittances have become a leading source of foreign revenues, he said.

Should deportations rise significantly, the Brazilian government will have to take corresponding measures, said Santoro.

"We could see Congress begin to pressure Itamaraty (the Foreign Affairs Ministry) and the government to take a stand against the U.S." policy, he said.

"It's not possible to take a cautious or cordial stance, because Trump's attacks are racist attacks against an entire continent, of which Brazil is a part. We are all in the same boat: Mexicans, Caribbeans and Brazilians," said Santoro. Endi