Plans for US / Mexico Border Wall Moving Forward
When President Trump mentioned building a wall along the United States border with Mexico, it became a controversial campaign pledge that resulted in various reactions. While most people didn't take him serious, others have considered the possibility that Trump would follow through on his promise. Recent developments show that those that believed he was serious were correct and it's causing turmoil for architects.
This month the Trump legislation opened up bids for the 2,000 mile long wall to be built across the United States and Mexico border. While nearly 200 construction and engineering firms expressed interest in working on the project, many architects have refused to submit tenders and encouraged others to follow their lead.
The wall isn't only receiving resistance from architects and construction workers. It is also fighting a losing battle against its own political party, the public, and most importunately Mexico. Despite Trumps allegations that Mexico will pay for the wall, there have been continuous reports from the officials of Mexico saying that they refuse to pay for the wall.
With the estimated cost of $20 billion for the wall, it's no wonder why Mexico would refuse to pay. It's even unclear why Trump would persist on building the wall when others have offered multiple suggestions for what the money would be better spent on - helping to stabilize the Mexican economy to staunch the flow of illegal immigration, focusing on infrastructure improvements, green energy production, or enhancing transportation, to name a few.
In addition to the funding needed just to construct the wall, the wall poses further financial implications once the wall is complete. If the full plan follows through, there would be added roads, patrol, aircraft patrol, and bright lights lined up along the wall. So now the wall not only acts as a financial burden but also causes environmental impacts.
The digging, road building, and deconstruction of the current 650 miles of wall are just a few of the ways that the natural habitat will be disturbed. The video above demonstrates further how the border wall will affect the surrounding environment and wildlife - two considerations often neglected when the plan is discussed.
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Cover Photo: image © unsplash
Sources: Fast Co Design, Business Insider, Time
