Originally published on 04 September, 2015
Ahead of the 2016 United States presidential election, a number of Republican hopefuls have again made US border protection a key issue and several have suggested that border walls are a key solution.
The history of U.S. border protection, however, shows how unfeasible the idea of a bricks-and-mortar wall is. The construction of the so-called 2,000-mile-long “Border Wall” began in 1993 between San Diego and Tijuana. However, by 2006, only 14 miles of the fence had been completed at a cost of $39 million dollars. By 2011, 646 miles of the fence was scattered along the southwest border, with 299 miles of the existing wall made up of vehicles barriers built at an approximate cost of $1.7 million per mile and 350 miles of pedestrian fencing, built at an estimated cost of $6.5 million per mile.
The project proved too expensive to finish.That same year, under the Obama administration, a virtual wall using mobile surveillance and unmanned drones covering the entire 2,000-mile border, was announced at a cost of over $7 billion. A pilot program with 53 miles of virtual surveillance was launched in Arizona. After $1 billion was spent, that project was also abandoned due to its inability to meet standards for viability and cost effectiveness.
But the problem is not only financial. Physical walls have not deterred immigrants from making the trip across the border.
Instead, the walls have caused a rise in migrant deaths as migrants still attempt the crossing, but in more remote and risky border areas. While doing little to prevent illegal immigration, walls create many environmental problems such as the erosion of mountains, the dumping of erosion waste into rivers and consequential flooding.
A physical wall along the entire US-Mexico border is unrealistic and is not a viable solution to the United States’ immigration woes. And equally costly, virtual walls both eliminate some of the environmental issues with building a physical wall, but also invite new questions regarding the privacy rights of Americans as well as health concerns.
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