Donald Trump toyed with the idea of surrounding the border with a water-filled trench stocked with snakes and alligators - asking his aides to find out how much doing such a thing would cost, according to a new book.
It has been claimed that the President of the United States also suggested that soldiers should shoot migrants but when he was told that was illegal he later proposed shooting them in the legs in a bid to slow them down.
'Border Wars: Inside Trump's Assault on Immigration' is a new book written my New York Times Washington correspondent Michael D. Shear and Julie Hirschfeld Davis who write about how Trump, 73, spoke about the alligator-filled moat during a private meeting.
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The book also suggests that the POTUS planned to electrify the border wall and add spikes to the tip that could pierce human flesh so that it couldn't be climbed over.
Speaking to the authors, Thomas D. Homan, who had served as Trump's acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement recalled: "The president was frustrated and I think he took that moment to hit the reset button. The president wanted it to be fixed quickly."
The MailOnline reported that it was revealed the president considered a design plan that involved anti-climb surface and rounded metal cylinders - but when on to say he didn't like the appearance and that metal points would look more intimidating.
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He apparently said that spikes would not only cut climbers' hands but be more effective in deterring people from scaling the wall in the first place as they would look more visually threatening.
One person who was present during the suggested border plans was Kirstjen Neilsen, the homeland security secretary at the time.
The book goes on to say that Trump had routinely berated Ms. Nielsen as ineffective and, worse - at least in his mind - not tough-looking enough.
President Trump came to the conclusion that a complete shutdown of the border was the only way to deal with migrants crossing the Mexican border.
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According to people who were in the room during the time of the meeting, when people such as Kirstjen Nielsen tried to reason with him he snapped: "All you care about is your friends in Mexico. I've had it. I want it done at noon tomorrow."
'Border Wars: Inside Trump's Assault on Immigration' can be pre-ordered on Amazon here. It will be released on 8 October 2019.
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