Donald Trump's Border Wall Essay

1199 Words3 Pages

Donald Trump & His Border Wall With Mexico
Andrew Bird
Sister Ivy’s English 101 Class Donald Trump has advocated for a 30’ border wall to be built along the 2,000-mile long border that separates the United States and Mexico, claiming that Mexico will be forced to pay costs of construction. His proposal has drawn wide criticism for many legitimate reasons, but the main complaint appears to be the cost. Mr. Nieto, president of Mexico, rebuked having to pay for the wall by offering the following statement: “we (Mexico) will not pay for the wall” (BBC, 6 Feb 2017). Since it appears that the United States would then bear the costs of construction, many complain that the proposed wall is simply too expensive. The following two related …show more content…

In forming an opinion, there are so many variables from earlier efforts at building the wall that need to be taken into much consideration before the wall is to be built. Cost is clearly not the only issue at hand here. One of the more serious environmental issues affecting possible construction of a wall is a treaty which governs structures along the Rio Grande and Colorado river at the Mexican border. It requires that structures cannot disrupt the flow of the rivers, which flow across Texas and 24 miles in Arizona and define the US-Mexico border, according to The International Boundary and Water Commission, a joint US-Mexico agency that administers the treaty. (Associated Press, 2016)
Would this treaty prevent President Trump from constructing a wall? Probably not. He wants the wall to be built because he feels that it will fix our current immigration problems. We can clearly see that this has been a similar theme from years past. Not only does the treaty prevent the wall from be built but, “In some places, the treaty obligations and river flood zones would require the wall to be built well into the United States…” (Associated Press, 8 Mar 2016). The geology of the land also makes building the wall more …show more content…

Labor, materials, difficult topography and environmental issues, including the endangered species list, might drive all costs higher or make construction difficult or impossible in some regions. “In a Feb. 17 interview with MSNBC, Trump upped his estimate of the cost: ‘The wall is going to cost a fraction of that [trade deficit with Mexico], maybe $10 billion or $12 billion, and it’s going to be a real wall.” We still believe that figure is not credible” (Washington Post, 11 Feb 2016). Only time will tell if and when the wall will be

Open Document