Getty Images/Justin Sullivan
People wait in line to enter the United States at the Paso del Norte Port of Entry on March 31, 2019 in El Paso, Texas.
- President Donald Trump is still threatening to close the US-Mexico border, despite major pushback from experts and his own allies who say it could cripple the US economy.
- Top White House officials are reportedly trying to minimize the economic disruption, perhaps by keeping truck lanes open to allow trade with Mexico to continue.
- But closing the border would set off an avalanche of other logistical, legal, and economic problems.
President Donald Trump has been threatening to close the US-Mexico border in response to the surge of Central American migrants, despite widespread warnings that doing so would cripple the US economy.
On Tuesday, top White House officials sought out ways to minimize the economic disruption of a full-scale closure by keeping truck lanes open for the estimated $1.5 billion in exports that flow across the border each day, according to The Washington Post.
But experts say it's not just a matter of trade - closing the border would set off an avalanche of other logistical, legal, and economic problems, and could actually exacerbate illegal border-crossings.
Here's what would happen if the border were closed.