And you bet it probably will cost way more than my estimate, considering that Trump wants the wall to have those many golden doors and be clean from pigeon crap.
Do you folks know what that picture is of? That is one of the hundreds of large, grand doors that open into the Grand Mosque, Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi, in Madinah, Saudi Arabia – one of the two holiest mosques in Islam. What a beautifully ordained piece of architecture. Doors like this one are literally glittering in gold and covered in beautiful calligraphy espousing the names of the prophet and God, and, your personal favorite, quotes of Allahu Akbar.
And that is exactly what I imagined the grand doors would be in Donald Trump’s fantasy wall.
So, why have I picked this magnificent architectural feat to represent Trump’s colossal vision? Let’s just take a step back and think about where the wall is being built: in the heartland of all conservatives – New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. And within those domains, there inhabit the most conservative, radical Christians of all Christians. Then, picture a big golden canvas of a door strapped near a deeply religious community with a plethora of wall-space to adorn the Word of God. You wouldn’t think that those golden doors would be filled with Christian Allahu Akbars all over the entrances? Even a little bit of Neo-Nazi driven bigoted speech towards the incoming Latinoamericanos? And maybe a tad of First-Amendment protected flags of the old, heroic Confederacy? Heck, if there was a golden door being built next to me, I would propose to sculpt my biased ideals onto the doors as well!
Well that’s my two cents for the day, but here’s the critical part about the wall that we are all curious about. Cost.
What exactly will this massive behemoth cost average U.S. taxpayers? According to research data from the National Journal, Business Insider states that the wall would cost a whopping $6.4 billion to construct. But don’t worry! Because optimistically speaking, Mexico would foot the bill.
But if you think about it, this maneuver might actually be cost-saving in the long run. Current costs of border security are estimated at $18 billion in one year (for context, a large share of the costs is spent on trade inspections). Consider this: the current reports of how the border fence keep out immigrants are not promising. There are stories of folks crossing the Rio Grande or digging underground tunnels to come to the US, even shady stories of Border Patrol guards being paid to look the other way (low salary ranges for these guys are sometimes $49,000, so yeah. I can stomach the bribery). Human rights tragedies along the border are very commonplace stories. So would a theoretical wall be able to keep out immigrants as promised? Possibly, if it can be built in a long, Great-Wall-of-China-like trail that has no weak spots, requires low maintenance, and can be stable under severe weather conditions.
Assuming that the wall is durable enough, it would be possible to cut spending on ICE and Border Patrol guards if the wall supposedly is so super-massive that it doesn’t need as much patrolling as you would think. The security guards can be concentrated on the Rio Grande to focus on migrants trying to boat or swim ashore. I’m not a scientist, and I couldn’t find much research on this point, but I would think that the ground would be substantially harder to dig tunnels through and possibly create more dangerous cave-in conditions for migrants. This is all me trying to be optimistic about the wall, but in reality, life creates a lot of challenges and costs that are worth taking into account.
Perhaps the smart way to alleviate the migrant diaspora is to tackle their issues to the core. Why is it that they decide to forgo everything they love – home, family, friends, patriotic love – to undertake a well-known dangerous endeavor to the USofA? It can’t be simply dumbed down to push-and-pull economics of international demand and supply. Recall that the largest number of migrants come from conflict-driven zones like Mexico’s Chiapas state (overwhelmed by gang and government violence) and Guatemala. I think it is fairly obvious what the American government can do to relieve the terrible ordeals facing migrants.
Personally? I don’t really believe that Trump is in it for the immigrants. If you are a super-rich guy with a big ego, what do you do? You can’t sculpt a statue of yourself, because that’s too Hitler-y and pretentious. But can you rally xenophobic hatred and get away with building a legacy (yes you bet it will be called the Trump Wall) that will last for a millennium? Absolutely.
And that’s just the wall. Add to that estimates of deportation costs at $200 billion from Center for American Progress, or the right-leaning American Action Forum’s $400-600 billion. If Trump does indeed becomes president and immigration was first on his agenda, be prepared for a very expensive first date. And I don’t think the sex afterwards will be very pleasant.
- Business Insider’s Trump cost estimates: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-does-donald-trumps-immigration-plan-cost-2015-8
- Newsmax’s cost to build a wall: http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/illegal-immigration-wall-U-SMexico-border-cost/2015/09/01/id/673114/
- ProPublica.org’s current BP estimates: http://www.propublica.org/article/billions-proposed-for-new-border-security.-where-would-the-money-go
- Huffington Post’s Trump Immigration Plan: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jorgre-ramos-tears-into-donald-trumps-expensive-immigration-plan_55f80dd9e4b0c2077efbf2f9
That Political Site 