"The Wall" Metaphor...
...is offensive and annoying.
(Not everyone can live here, and we totally get that. But we don't have to be jerks about it.
We're just not that kind of country. And, deep down, we all know it.)
First and foremost, we all need to understand that "The Wall" means far more than an actual, physical wall. It's an incredibly lazy metaphor that certain people pull out from a tired arsenal of vile, racist one-liners. We're sick of it.
And, let's be honest, even if you are for an actual "Wall" you must admit that it wasn’t that difficult to conceive. That concept is one of the first things preschool kids figure out with their Legos. We are not saying that fencing in certain areas should not be part of the solution (read more here). Yuma, Arizona and El Paso are good examples of places where this strategy has been effective. But, we must be smart and strategic in our approach, and operate from a place of truth.
Let's review.
Evidence:
United States. Customs and Border Protection. "Border Wall System." 14 Sept 2020
Jeremy Schwartz and Perla Trevizo. "He Built a Privately Funded Border Wall. It’s Already at Risk of Falling Down if Not Fixed." Texas Tribune. 2 July 2020
Chantal Da Silva. "Donald Trump's New Border Wall Contract Will Cost More Than $30 Million Per Mile." Newsweek. 20 May 20
United States. Government Accountability Office. "Southwest Border Security: CBP Is Evaluating Designs and Locations for Border Barriers but Is
Proceeding Without Key Information." July 2018
Nick Miroff. "At America’s Toughest Border Wall, A Hole Remains." Washington Post. 4 June 2018
No, Mexico is not paying for "The Wall." When this Donald Trump campaign lie was exposed, he started jacking around with trade issues, implying that Mexico would pay for "The Wall" through our trade relationship — which just underscores that he does not understand how trade works AT ALL. Then he tried to declare a "national emergency" at the border to get the money without congressional approval, which is unconstitutional. The whole thing is just ridiculous.
To make matters worse, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that says: "Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to spend billions of dollars developing and deploying new barriers along the southwest border. However, by proceeding without key information on cost, acquisition baselines, and the contributions of previous barrier and technology deployments, DHS faces an increased risk that the Border Wall System Program will cost more than projected, take longer than planned, or not fully perform as expected." Read the entire report here.
“The Wall” is ridiculous in its ineffectiveness. During the Trump administration, we spent billions and billions and billions on this damn thing, never mind that smugglers have repeatedly cut through it with a basic saw that you can buy at Walmart. In fact, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol report that, as of the beginning of March 2022, “The Wall” had been breached by Mexican smugglers 3,272 over the previous three years. In that time, we Americans paid over $2.6 million to repair the various breaches.
At one point, engineers noticed that a section of “The Wall” that was meant to be a showcase model for future projects — built for $42 million by a private company that had been awarded around $1.7 billion in federal contracts for border wall construction — had erosion at its base and may yet fall into the Rio Grande river.
Better still, this particular “Wall” design requires hundreds of storm gates be installed to prevent flash floods from literally knocking it over. Because of weather patterns, these storm gates must be left open for practically the entire summer. Which kind of defeats the purpose, don’t ya think?
Did you know that the proposed "Wall" is going to cost over $30 million per mile? Is this where we want our tax dollars to go? As of summer 2020, the Trump administration had already spent $15 billion on the project — OF AMERICAN TAXPAYER MONEY.