Trump visits US-Mexico border wall amid protests
Politics
Trump visits US-Mexico border wall amid protests
With protests raging nearby, Donald Trump has visited a section of the US-Mexico border in San Diego to see part of the wall he has hinged his political career on building.
Mr Trump visited the border in the Otay Mesa neighbourhood, the same location he stopped at last year when he reviewed several border wall prototypes that he has prescribed as a major fix for the immigration crisis he claims is threatening American values.
The president called it "an amazing project," according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters gathered in Southern California to demonstrate against his visit, and to push back on the idea that any border crisis truly exists except one that Mr Trump himself has created through a crackdown on asylum seekers and families fleeing violence and poverty in Central America.
Nearly three years into his first term, Mr Trump has pushed forward with construction on his border wall, in spite of pushback from congressional Democrats who have refused to fund much of the project.
Instead, Mr Trump has largely relied on diverted funds from other parts of the government, including the Defence Department and the Homeland Security Department.
While Mr Trump promised that Mexico would pay for the wall, instead some $3.6 billion in military infrastructure money has been raided, undercutting projects across the US from New York to Virginia and the Carolinas. All told, US Customs and Border Protection says it has received $6.2 billion since January 2017 to build the wall.
Among those projects that have had funding taken away include an ambulatory centre in North Carolina; an engineering centre at the US Military Academy in West Point, New York; a cyber-ops facility in Virginia; a fire station in South Carolina; a central heating facility on an Air Force base in Alaska; and a Kentucky middle school.
But, despite Mr Trump’s repeated claims that the US border wall is nearing completion, there actually hasn’t been much movement on creating new wall along the border. Before Mr Trump became president, 654 miles of the nearly 2,000 miles border had some form of fencing or wall on it, and that figure has remained mostly unchanged.
Instead, new construction has largely been to replace existing infrastructure, including with larger fences, bollards, lights, and roads.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has overseen a crackdown on immigration into the United States, with his administration notably separating families as they cross into the United States seeking asylum.
The administration has also pushed forward with efforts to stop migrants from getting into the United States at all, asking them instead to take a number at the border and to wait until they are called for a chance to have their asylum cases heard.
As a result of those policies and others, US immigration court backlogs have skyrocketed, with over 1 million waiting for their cases to be heard in the most recent tally, matching the highest backlog seen in the US.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters gathered in Southern California to demonstrate against his visit, and to push back on the idea that any border crisis truly exists except one that Mr Trump himself has created through a crackdown on asylum seekers and families fleeing violence and poverty in Central America.
While Mr Trump promised that Mexico would pay for the wall, instead some $3.6 billion in military infrastructure money has been raided, undercutting projects across the US from New York to Virginia and the Carolinas. All told, US Customs and Border Protection says it has received $6.2 billion since January 2017 to build the wall.
Among those projects that have had funding taken away include an ambulatory centre in North Carolina; an engineering centre at the US Military Academy in West Point, New York; a cyber-ops facility in Virginia; a fire station in South Carolina; a central heating facility on an Air Force base in Alaska; and a Kentucky middle school.
But, despite Mr Trump’s repeated claims that the US border wall is nearing completion, there actually hasn’t been much movement on creating new wall along the border. Before Mr Trump became president, 654 miles of the nearly 2,000 miles border had some form of fencing or wall on it, and that figure has remained mostly unchanged.
Instead, new construction has largely been to replace existing infrastructure, including with larger fences, bollards, lights, and roads.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has overseen a crackdown on immigration into the United States, with his administration notably separating families as they cross into the United States seeking asylum.
The administration has also pushed forward with efforts to stop migrants from getting into the United States at all, asking them instead to take a number at the border and to wait until they are called for a chance to have their asylum cases heard.
As a result of those policies and others, US immigration court backlogs have skyrocketed, with over 1 million waiting for their cases to be heard in the most recent tally, matching the highest backlog seen in the US.
From the article:
"But, despite Mr Trump’s repeated claims that the US border wall is nearing completion "
The only "Claim" I've ever heard Trump say about any "completion" thingy, is where he's claimed the "Prototypes" were close to "Completion" and the noting of the sections of the wall that were built....were "close to", or "Completed" !
Is this FAKE NEWS...………… AGAIN ?
Semantics maybe, but the cheerleader in chief, has made may questionable statements about that darned wall project.
Pretty bad stuff as an argument that Trump claimed border Wall was almost finished.
Ya got anything where Trump actually said ….. "The border wall is almost finished" ?
No, as you said, he seems to only comment on completed replacement projects. The author of the article is exaggerating.
But as the article correctly stated, the miles of existing fence, barrier and replacement wall is virtually unchanged since 2016.
The original bill (1996) required 700 miles of double fencing which only exists in one 36 mile stretch in CA.
The Bill was amended in 2006 to drop the double fence requirement. The 700 mile project was "completed" in 2011.
Virtually all of the projects since then were to replace the existing pedestrian fencing, largely ignoring
(almost worthless) vehicle barrier which comprises 299 miles of the 700 mile "system".
Simple math says that we have another 1254 mile of non existing wall to build in addition to the 299 miles of vehicle barriers
which needs to be upgraded.
By now it's possible that the section started in February has actually extended the existing fence by 14 miles.
Here's 3 interesting links about the complexities and actual construction.
and my favorites.
I posted no such thing !
This wasn't your comment? 5
Were your practicing ventriloquism or are we just not allowed to agree on anything, lol?
Yes it was...
But...
This was your "Interpretation 5.2.2:
"No, as you said, he seems to only comment on completed replacement projects."
"I" said ….no such thing !
So what did you "SEE" in my statement that would have made you note what you said I said ?
Insaneland. The Craziest Place on Earth. This is like saying that security guards and silent alarms create a bank robber crisis. It's only a crisis if you're trying to do something about the situation.
What a revelation! All we had to do was ignore the millions of people who have streamed over our border illegally and just say "not a problem!" Crisis solved!
Why not? It worked for the President on North Korea didn't it. Declare a crisis, threaten, have photo ops, exchange love letters and
poof, the crisis is over, right? Ignore those last dozen missile launches. Ignore the 2 missile launches, hours after NK asked to renew nuclear 'discussions'; NK then bragged that the new missiles were specifically designed to defeat the Patriot and THAD defense systems of SK and the USA.
No comment from the President ? Of course he commented, he says "no worries".
And if Trump were playing hardball with North Korea, he would be accused of creating a crisis. Ya can't win.
He himself declared it was a crisis. Did you miss 2017? He threatened to destroy NK. Said "talking, not the answer" to dealing with NK.
Then he "fixed it" yet the missile launches still continue.
Got it?
The turd creates the crisis and then is the only one who can fix it.
Right.
So . . . you agree with me that Trump didn't create a crisis at the border.
Nope he never gets it.
Always twisting, twisting, twisting, twisting.
[deleted]
You mean like excusing blackface by calling it "brown face?"
No comparison whatsoever [Deleted]
They're still talking about me? I was done wasting my time there hours ago
No this is like having the police arrest anyone going into the bank, and sorting out the customers a few months later. Then complaining that the local jail has a crisis because there are so many suspected bank robbers in it.
Oh. Emm. Gee.
No it isn't. It's not even close. You must be joking.
99.99% of people who enter a bank are doing so with legal status and intent.
Citizens, Legal Permanent Residents and anyone else with permission to enter the United States isn't running across the desert to get into the country. Any walls or fences are irrelevant to them.
They present themselves at a port of entry and are allowed in. Everyone else - those people who have to deal with the fence - are trying to enter illegally. 100% of them are breaking the law.
What are you a shyster lawyer?