Donald Trump wanted to build a permanent border wall between the US and Mexico. Its purpose would be to prevent entry of illegal immigrants. It was an election promise during his 2016 presidential campaign. He is in the chair for 30 months but not a single mile of new wall has come up. Work has certainly begun and it pertains to the replacement of existing “dilapidated” fencing. The administration defined the specifications, finalized the design and contractors built prototypes. The president visited the place where the prototypes stood and there was also a government shutdown on the subject of funding.

However, the US Customs and Border Protection overseeing the wall confirmed that the work carried out until now pertained to repair of dilapidated designs.

Daily Mail UK quotes the CBP as saying that “51 miles of steel bollard fence was built using money set aside during the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years.” This amount was for the replacement of outdated fence and putting up new ones that did not exist. However, the work done so far relates to only replacement fences.

A replacement was more convenient

In the opinion of a senior administration official, the authorities undertook replacement of old fences first.

This was because these already had the environmental and zoning permits. In the case of brand new fencing, such approvals are necessary and it is a time-consuming process. The official also made a mention of obstruction from Democrat lawmakers that led to delay in the project. The border wall would have made a difference by preventing the entry of unauthorized persons like drug smugglers who might pose dangers to America and its people.

There are gaps in the wall, some natural like water bodies, others man-made and many people misuse these.

Daily Mail UK adds that the speed of implementation is slow and averages less than two miles per month.

Donald Trump took over the office in January 2017 and funds are available for 205 miles of new or replacement walls. The delay in completion could defeat the very purpose of the wall meant to make America safe.

Border wall could reappear in the 2020 election campaign

According to Independent UK, Donald Trump’s 2016 electoral success was probably a result of his campaign promise of building a US-Mexico border wall. However, two and a half years down the line, there is nothing much to show. His supporters loved the idea but progress on it is slow. It seems not a single new stretch of the wall has come up since he came to power in January 2017. The CBP confirmed that the 51 miles of fencing completed since January 2017 pertain to replacement of existing barriers.

The subject could feature again in his 2020 election campaign. During his recent rally in El Paso, Texas, the crowds chanted, “build that wall." The president responded by saying - “Now, you really mean 'finish that wall,' because we've built a lot of it.”
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