Trump’s Wall

I went to see Trump’s WALL in El Paso, Texas, to understand what the locals think of the wall. Not being familiar with traveling across the Mexican border, I learned the hard way that once you pay 50 cents to enter Mexico on foot, you can’t return to the same place. That scared me because I didn’t expect to have to walk through the city of Juarez to get to the next bridge where immigrants have to wait in a long line to go through customs. I was definitely not prepared. I thought I would just interview a few people to get their take on the WALL to write this blog, and walk back over the border…

I expected to see Trump’s shiny, new wall protected by guards, but instead, all I saw was a completely rusty metal wall. It was shorter than I expected and it wouldn’t be hard for anyone to climb over it with a ladder and jump to the other side. I wondered why they used metal that rusts so quickly and would need a lot of maintenance to keep it from corroding.

As I waited in a long line to get back into the US, I interviewed a Mexican-American man who told me that the wall would never deter anyone from trying to smuggle in drugs or illegal things to America. He laughed at the thought. He said that they would just go around the wall. Then he confessed that he used to be a drug dealer and that he would bring in tons of drugs in trucks at night. The wall wouldn’t stop him or any of the drug dealers.

A Mexican woman with lung cancer who lives in the US said that she goes to Mexico for her cancer treatment because it’s only $500 (not thousands like in the US). She goes through customs with her boyfriend every week and it’s not a problem getting through. Not sure how Trump’s policies are supposed to be keeping people from coming into the US. Seems like he wants to build the wall just to stamp his name on it.

Another Mexican-American interviewee said that Trump’s wall is causing all kinds of environmental hazards. The wall intercepts the Rio Grande River, which diverts the water and is causing problems with the local farmers who need the water. The river was completely dry when I was there. It reminded me of the movie “Chinatown” with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, where LA county water is controlled and diverted by corrupt officials in Chinatown.

Another guy said that if the US government installed surveillance cameras every 100 feet, they would deter people from coming through the border and it would be a fraction of the cost. Staff could monitor the cameras 24/7 and notify the authorities when people try to enter illegally. Hmm.

My take: Use the money (that is slated for the wall) to mitigate our carbon and gas problems and provide medical coverage for all Americans. The wall will not stop illegal immigrants or drugs from entering America. This vanity wall is simply another obsession by our narcissistic president.