US taxpayers face $1.6bn bill to start Trump's border wall despite 'Mexico will pay' promise

Members of Congress have released a bill which will allocate funds to start construction of President Donald Trump's border wall with Mexico.

The House Appropriations Committee released the bill on Tuesday (11 July) which would allow for $1.6bn of funds to kickstart one of Trump's flagship policies.

The funds would come under the umbrella of budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which could be in line for a 7% increase in their annual spending if the bill is passed.

However, the plan means the US taxpayer would be paying for the wall and not Mexico, counter to what Trump promised on several occasions on the campaign trail.

When asked at the G20 summit last week, Trump said that Mexico would "absolutely" be paying for the wall. After Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto held talks at the Hamburg summit, there was no mention of who would be paying for the border wall.

Under Trump's initial proposals, the DHS would be just one of three out of a total of 18 government departments that would see their funding increased, the other two being defence and veteran affairs.

House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman John Carter said: "Keeping Americans safe by protecting our homeland is a top priority. This funding bill provides the resources to begin building a wall along our southern border, enhance our existing border security infrastructure, hire more border patrol agents, and fund detention operations."

Some congressman in recent days have warned that they would consider pulling their votes from the budget and spending plan should the wall funding be left out.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) suggested that Trump may not even approve the budget if there is no allocation of funds to his wall, something which the White House has refused to comment on.

Specifics for the DHS budget bill will be released in the coming days, with early figures suggesting $1.6bn for the wall, $100m to increase the number of Border Patrol agents by 500.

Also, an additional $131m for new border technology, $106m for aircraft and sensors and $109m for "non-intrusive inspection equipment."

There is also set to be an $619.7m increase to Immigration and Customs Enforcement over current levels, bringing total funding for ICE to $7bn.