Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Trump wants a border wall; here’s what’s in place already
As Congress weighed legislation on immigration and border security, President Donald Trump this month repeated his calls for a wall to be constructed along the nearly 2,000-mile United States border with Mexico. Lawmakers have not been able to come to a consensus on what border security measures could pass Congress. But we know a lot about the defenses currently on the border. The border is defined by rugged terrain and the Rio Grande, which act as natural barriers, as well as the nearly 700 miles of wall and fencing constructed by the government since 2006. Some of the fencing is tall — higher than 10 feet — and concentrated near populated areas. These sections are intended to keep people from trying to cross the border on foot. Still, people find ways to cut through the fencing or climb over it. The rest of the fencing lies in areas where the terrain makes it difficult to safely cross the border on foot. These sections are shorter and built to block vehicles from driving across. Blimps, drones, cameras and other surveillance tools reinforce the physical fencing, and more than 16,000 Border Patrol agents work across nine sectors, where they track attempted drug smuggling and border crossings. People usually pass through one of 25 official crossings that dot the border, and most of the hard drugs that are smuggled into the United States come through these crossings — or under them. Hundreds of drug-smuggling tunnels snake under border towns like Nogales, in Ariz. In part because of increased security, the number of people caught crossing the border illegally has dropped 82 percent from its peak in 2000. Still, proposals for the wall, estimated to cost $18 billion, moved forward in January when eight prototypes were tested near the San Diego border for their effectiveness against potential crossers.