Everyone's heard the intentions of President Trump to "build a wall and have Mexico pay for it."
The following excerpts and links offer background on the impact of accomplishing that intention on the federal budget with commentary on the effectiveness of such a feat.
ABC News 1/26/2017
Under the Secure Fence Act, the pedestrian border fencing completed in fiscal year 2007 was estimated to cost about $2.8 million per mile, according to a 2009 report from the Government Accountability Office. It was constructed using mostly the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Guard, according to the Congressional Research Service. The 2009 report also found that fencing constructed in fiscal year 2008, which mostly used private contractors, cost about $3.9 million per mile.
But some 700 miles of border fencing had already been
completed along the country's nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico, much of it
during Barack Obama's presidency, as part of the Secure
Fence Act of 2006, which was signed by George W. Bush.
Building a new 1,000-mile wall could cost as much as $40 billion, according to an analysis published in the MIT Technology Review. Maintenance of barriers along the southern border will also be costly. The Congressional Research Service estimated in 2009 that double layer fencing would cost an estimated $16.4 million to $70 million per mile over 25 years, depending on the amount of damage sustained.
During
his confirmation hearing earlier this month, newly-minted DHS Secretary Gen.
John Kelly said that "a physical barrier in and of itself will not do the
job."
"It
has to be a layered defense," he said, adding that even with a wall
extending from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, you would still have to
back that wall up with patrolling by human beings, sensors and observation
devices, he said.
Border
Patrol already employs a "digital wall" composed of about 8,000
cameras, which monitor the southern fence and ports of entry. Its resources
also include more than 11,000 underground senors, 107 aircraft, eight drones,
175 mobile surveillance units and 84 boats.
“We
can spend billions of dollars to build a 10-foot wall on top of a 10,000-foot
mountain,” former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said in November, “but if you’ve
come all the way from Central America, it’s not going to stop you.”
The
president predicted Wednesday that his executive orders will "save
thousands of lives, millions of jobs, and billions and billions of
dollars."
A photo accompanying an NWO Report article dateline January 18, 2017
https://nworeport.me/2017/01/18/ahead-of-schedule-and-under-budget-army-engineers-begin-work-on-trumps-border-wall/
SOME BORDER FACTS
ACCORDING TO NATGEO
The border between the United States and Mexico stretches
3,145 kilometers (1,954 miles), from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean.
In some places, the border is only marked by a sign or a fence. In other
places, the border is reinforced with barbed wire or tall steel barriers.
ACCORDING TO THE GUARDIAN
Finishing the some 1,300 miles of fencing proposed in the
state [Texas] is daunting since most border land is privately owned and
materials could cost $10bn
There are miles of gaps between segments and openings in the
fence itself. As a result of the Secure Fence Act passed in 2006, the
government built some 650 miles of wall along the 1,954-mile US-Mexico
boundary. While 1,254 miles of that border is in Texas, the state has only some
100 miles of wall.
Finishing the some 1,300 miles of border fencing would also
be costly. According to a 2009 government accountability report, pedestrian fencing,
meant to keep out smugglers and migrants crossing on foot, has run anywhere
from $400,000 to $15.1m per mile, averaging $3.9m.
SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT THE STATES THAT FORM THE U.S. BORDER and IMMIGRATION LAW
200,000,000 People affected by Border laws.
ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA
As of January 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
reported that it had more than 580 miles (930 km) of barriers in place.
The Fourth Amendment of
the U.S. Constitution protects against unreasonable search and seizure;
however, according to the government this Amendment does not fully apply at
borders or border crossings (also known as ports of entry). This means that
much of the U.S. population is subject to CBP regulations for stop and search.
The 100 Mile Border Zone includes two thirds of the population, a majority of
the largest cities in the U.S. and several entire states (namely Connecticut,
Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts,
Michigan, New
Hampshire, and New Jersey).
John P. Wentland/ANCLA
Image
From the Mexico side, a view of the border wall running through the city of Nogales between
Mexico and the U.S in Sonora state, Mexico on November 10, 2016
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
The border around the contiguous US extends 100 miles within the U.S. This means:
· Roughly two-thirds of the United States'
population lives within the 100-mile zone—that is, within 100 miles of a U.S.
land or coastal border. That's about 200 million people.
· Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii,
Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and
Vermont lie entirely or almost entirely within this area.
· Nine of the ten largest U.S. metropolitan
areas, as determined by the 2010 Census, also fall within this zone: New York
City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San
Diego and San Jose.
RELATED MATTERS: PROTEST LEGISLATION
If passed, legislation pending in five state—Minnesota,
Washington state, Michigan, and Iowa Virginia and Colorado—would make protests illegal.
Though not practically feasible, if legislation like were enacted in all 50 of
the states, the StarTrek injunction by the fictional Borg would be fulfilled:
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!
