Trump’s Wall

Donald Trump has said that he will build a wall of concrete and steel, 1,609 kilometers long and around 15 meters high, along the border between the U.S. and Mexico. He also insists that our government will cover all the costs for this wall.

“Trump’s Wall” encapsulates a xenophobic and isolationist viewpoint that is deeply rooted in the minds of millions of North Americans. However, from a practical point of view, this ignominious wall is unfeasible, ridiculous, and completely based in fantasy.

It was first mentioned in a New York Times article published on May 20. The article was virtually ignored by the Mexican media, which were more interested in covering the “mud-slinging match” into which our local election battles had descended.

The article discussed the operational implications of the construction of “Trump’s Wall.” Building it would be a nightmare in financial, logistic, administrative and legal terms. A 12-meter high concrete wall, plus three additional meters below ground-level, would cost around $26 billion. The logistics of it would be complex, even more so when you consider the ambitious timeline of four years for its construction.

The work would involve thousands of people who would have to move closer to the construction areas in order to meet the deadline. It is unknown which federal agencies would be involved in the project, how these would coordinate with one another throughout the process, and who would be responsible for the maintenance costs once it was completed.

There is no justification for “Trump’s Wall.” According to information published by the National Survey of the Demographic Dynamic, between 2009 and 2014, 1 million Mexicans and their families left the U.S. for Mexico. The Pew Research Center estimates that this resulted in a net loss of 140,000 from 2009 to 2014. That is to say that there are more Mexicans emigrating from the U.S. than immigrating to our northern neighbor.

It is logical that Trump has chosen to sell the promise of a wall during his campaign. A vast majority of Republicans have bought it. According to a survey carried out by the Pew Research Center on the May 11, 2016, 84 percent of those who support Trump for the GOP nomination are in favor of building a wall along the border. That means that almost 9 out of every 10 Trump supporters want the wall. Even 56 percent of Republicans who do not support Trump support the construction of the wall.

Evaluation

The hope is that on a national level, voters who do not trust Trump (two-thirds of the electorate, according to The New York Times and CBS News) will prevail at the polls in November. Hopefully, the 57 percent of the electorate who believe that immigrants strengthen the country through their work and their talent will win out over the 35 percent who feel that they are a burden, as the Pew figures show.

The construction of “Trump’s Wall” is a false promise, and is unrealistic. The financial, logistic, administrative and legal costs are complex and unsustainable. However, Trump has already sold and built his invisible wall, and that is much more dangerous.

Trump is just one person. What is worrying is the sentiment felt by the significant part of the electorate he represents. It is a phenomenon that will undoubtedly surpass Trump as an individual and even the Republican Party as a democratic institution. Even if Hillary Clinton wins in the end, this phenomenon will be present in the U.S. for years to come. This political and cultural wall is what should really worry us.