The delay in the construction of the U.S-Mexico wall
The issues issue of border and walls in 2015 appeared to have become global agenda amid the surrounding migration and stopping spontaneous movement. The border wall is also viewed to have become a central issue In the American presidential race of 2016. The then-Republican candidate who is now the present of the United States of American caught the interests of numerous American voters with a precise campaign promise. He promised to construct a great wall on the southern border of America. He also stated that he will make Mexico pay for the wall. However, after close to four years since the 2016 general election was held, the wall has not been completed. This is because the project is surrounded by numerous barriers that critique the building of the wall.
Discussion
One significant reason as to why the wall along the Mexican border has not been completed even after nearly four years after the general election of 2016 is that based on public opinion. The preponderance of the American people (58%) are against the substantial expansion of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico boundary – as Donald Trump has sought – whereas 40% back-up the idea, according to the data provided by the Department of Homeland Security. A higher percentage of Americans view political concessions as improper since they believe that, it would be intolerable for the Congress to enact a bill that incorporates Trump’s demand for wall funding if it is the only approach of ending the government shutdown. Another reason is that numerous undocumented immigrants are already in America. Donald Trump insinuated that a border wall will hold off droves of undocumented immigrants every year. However, the idea, as well as the project, has been criticized based on the data from the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which disclosed that; the key foundation of illegal immigration into America, is individuals who legally travel to America but then choose to overstay even after their visas overdue.
The DHS approximated that among the 45 million foreigners who moved to America via air or sea on business or tourist visas that lapsed in 2015, about 416,400 of them were still staying in the country in 2016. This excludes the immigrants who entered America on land making the total number of visa overstays to be more. Though there have been various actions taken to solve the issue such as congress enacting seven regulations, some factors have prevented the success of such actions. For example, both technical, as well as financial factors, have made it difficult to tract people with overstay visas. Another executive order demanded the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “accelerate the conclusion and implementation of a biometric tracking scheme for every tourist to America. This itself depicts and contradicts the wall idea by asserting that a new wall would not do anything to aid turn on the system. The fact that the immigration courts are overwhelmed also plays part in the delay in the completion of the U.S-Mexican wall. Notably, the collateral destruction created by the broken immigration system is seen in the immigration courts of the U.S, which for numerous years have been blocked by ever-surging extradition caseloads.
During the reign of George W. Bush, the yearly ratio of federal prosecutions for immigration crimes was more than quadrupled. Famished with income and overwhelmed by too little judges, the courts carried out events relating to more than 80 migrant cases in one event, in apparent violation of federal law. The immigration courts are currently floating at breaking point; however, Donald Trump stated that he intends to target three million more persons for deportation. In case this occurs, then the immigration court system might run to a halt. Another reason is based on the fact that, when Trump signed an Executive Order 13767, formally directing the U.S. administration to start the construction of the U.S-Mexican wall with the use of the existing federal funding, the construction process did not start at this time as a result of a major expense as well as the absence of clarity or transparency on how the construction process would be funded. In 2018 December, a partial shutdown of the federal government for 35 days was enforced since of Trump’s persistence to prohibit any expenditure bill that fails to include $5.7 billion for funding of the boundary wall. A declaration of a state of national emergency was however signed by Donald Trump in 2019 stating that the U.S-Mexico boundary condition is a crisis that needs capital allocated for different reasons to be applied to construct the wall. In other words, the declaration of national emergency by Trump in February 2019 to build the wall after failing to acquire billions he requested for in the best federal government shutdown in the history of America is thought to have led to the delay in the construction of the wall.
Though Congress approved a joint decision to turn over the emergency order, Trump prohibited the solution which later saw the Supreme Court approve the reallocation of $2.5 billion in the sector of Defense anti-drug financial support to make the wall whereas other legal activities carried on. This, therefore, asserts that the high expenditure associated with the construction of the wall might have led to the delay for its completion as funds are directed to other activities within the U.S government. Trump administration has also been condemned by both democrats as well as the top Republic as is that his government intends to divert the capital meant to make fighter jets, vehicles, as well as ships into building the wall. This has brought the project to a slow down as debates are held on how the money would be spent. The building of the wall has also been depicted as border militarization and has been associated with the creation of funnel effect as it directs migration to remote areas like deserts that have rugged terrains and filled with dangerous conditions like heavy rains. It is reported that more deaths have been reported from the deserts. This has since sparked debates concerning the construction of the U.S Mexico wall.
Conclusion
Conclusively, the delay in the construction of the U.S-Mexico wall has been facilitated by numerous factors. Among them is public opinion that asserts that there is no need for the wall as illegal immigrants have already gotten to America as tourists. Funding has also been a problem as there are other projects that Trump’s administration opts to complete such as the building of fighter jets, vehicles as well as ships. Moreover, the declaration of national emergency by Trump in February 2019 to build the wall after failing to acquire billions he requested for in the best federal government shutdown in the history of America is thought to have led to the delay in the construction of the wall.