WALLWATCH: Trump's Mexican Border Wall (COMING SOON?)

[VineyIsLORD]

As the most high profile promise of the Trump campaign, I think its prudent to get a thread going on its progress.

So far, nothing has happened, though that's fair enough as Trump won't take office for another 2 months.

He has stated, I believe, that the 'day to day' of the presidency is going to be Mike Pence's responsiblity, but that Trump would take personal oversight of the construction of the wall.

Some numbers:

1,933 - the amount of miles the wall needs to cover. This is roughly the same distance as Melbourne to Cairns. Still only less than half as big China's great wall, but the Chinese built that thing over hundreds of years (and was also pointless by the time it was finished, whereas Trumps will be pointless before it starts)
Annual costs once built - various estimates, but staffing and maintenance alone were estimated by conservative website redstate to cost at least 50 billion dollars a year.
Construction costs - estimated at somewhere between 20 and 50 billion dollars

So far, not a lot of news. But stay tuned, this is gunna be huge, its gunna be great and its gunna be bigly.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Can he executive order this one?

 

[QuietB]

He will spend 4 years lamenting that the Mexicans have not agreed to pay for it yet

 

[Richard Pryor]

The GOP is already pushing Trump to downgrade his wall plan to extending existing fencing on the border.

 

[GreyCrow]

It will be a metaphorical wall.

 

[VineyIsLORD]

It will be a metaphorical wall.

Are you saying he LIED?

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Can he executive order this one?

its the appropriation of the funds that is the issue

Trump claimed the wall (10-15m high, precast concrete) would cost around $12b. Washington Post estimated it would be $25b.

Reducing the concrete wall to a wire fence would reduce costs considerably, but the geographical issues that make this an expensive venture would still remain.

back to funding, one idea being floated is diverting funds from board control. That has issues however. The entire annual budget for Customs and Border Control is $13b. That therefore isn't an option, so they would need to divert from an agency which they could argue genuinely has the jurisdiction of the wall in its bailiwick

Also this is before two additional costs need to be considered. Customs/Homeland Security will need more funding for the "extreme vetting" at customs of people from muslim countries. Also the requirement for national registration of people from Syria will require funding too.

Then there is the deportation squad. This will cost a mint. you need to hire the national squad who will hunt down illegal migrants, build the detention centres to house them (the US prison system is at breaking point with 2m, so new facilities will be needed), create a processing system to hear each case and convict ASAP (the longer in detention the greater the cost), and then the transport logistics to transport convicted migrants from the detention centres to the Mexican board AND various central american countries. Estimates vary depending upon how hard you go and how quick (ie 1m first year or 5m), but numbers of $200-300b a year are being discussed

 

[Reynolds Number]

Will not happen.

 

[Fuzzy Wuzzy Bear]

His 'great wall' will be a glorified fence.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Just on the wall's proposed height (10-15m)

- An AFL goal post is 6m high

- the Great Wall of China is between 6-8m high

for it to be 15m tall, it will be as big as this big ******* sheep

 

[Procrastinator35]

I favor an adobe, mud-brick version.....Far more culturally sensitive & in keeping with Mexican customs.

 

[Deaneus!]

They're better off annexing Mexico, then building a wall at the thinnest part of the continent

 

[GreyCrow]

They're better off annexing Mexico, then building a wall at the thinnest part of the continent

They already built a canal there. But damn those refos and their canoes!!

 

[Crimson Azure]

You all need to build a bri.... I mean a wall and get over it.

Or get stopped trying to mount it.

 

[estibador]

I assume hell (and everywhere else) must have frozen over for Trump to get elected, so he could just build one like this.

 

[Procrastinator35]

 

[QuietB]

Maybe you build it like a new school gym - get every parent in the USA to buy a brick each and they all get to write a message on their brick

 

[evo]

the wall should be made out of a live thicket of premium quality marijuana.

That way it would keep out that shitty low grade Mexican dirtweed.

 

[funk44]

His 'great wall' will be a glorified fence.

There already is a glorified fence

 

[Procrastinator35]

Will it be a paywall?....A wailing wall?....Or backs to the wall?

Does all this wall-fixation, make me a wall-nut?

 

[Cooldude]

Can't we just have Trump supporters forming a really yuge daisy chain across the country instead?

 

[Messenger]

its the appropriation of the funds that is the issue

Trump claimed the wall (10-15m high, precast concrete) would cost around $12b. Washington Post estimated it would be $25b.

Reducing the concrete wall to a wire fence would reduce costs considerably, but the geographical issues that make this an expensive venture would still remain.

back to funding, one idea being floated is diverting funds from board control. That has issues however. The entire annual budget for Customs and Border Control is $13b. That therefore isn't an option, so they would need to divert from an agency which they could argue genuinely has the jurisdiction of the wall in its bailiwick

Also this is before two additional costs need to be considered. Customs/Homeland Security will need more funding for the "extreme vetting" at customs of people from muslim countries. Also the requirement for national registration of people from Syria will require funding too.

Then there is the deportation squad. This will cost a mint. you need to hire the national squad who will hunt down illegal migrants, build the detention centres to house them (the US prison system is at breaking point with 2m, so new facilities will be needed), create a processing system to hear each case and convict ASAP (the longer in detention the greater the cost), and then the transport logistics to transport convicted migrants from the detention centres to the Mexican board AND various central american countries. Estimates vary depending upon how hard you go and how quick (ie 1m first year or 5m), but numbers of $200-300b a year are being discussed

David Duke will have advised that the best way to transport them is by train. To save cost you could just use freight wagons.

 

[Inferno]

its the appropriation of the funds that is the issue

Trump claimed the wall (10-15m high, precast concrete) would cost around $12b. Washington Post estimated it would be $25b.

Reducing the concrete wall to a wire fence would reduce costs considerably, but the geographical issues that make this an expensive venture would still remain.

back to funding, one idea being floated is diverting funds from board control. That has issues however. The entire annual budget for Customs and Border Control is $13b. That therefore isn't an option, so they would need to divert from an agency which they could argue genuinely has the jurisdiction of the wall in its bailiwick

Also this is before two additional costs need to be considered. Customs/Homeland Security will need more funding for the "extreme vetting" at customs of people from muslim countries. Also the requirement for national registration of people from Syria will require funding too.

Then there is the deportation squad. This will cost a mint. you need to hire the national squad who will hunt down illegal migrants, build the detention centres to house them (the US prison system is at breaking point with 2m, so new facilities will be needed), create a processing system to hear each case and convict ASAP (the longer in detention the greater the cost), and then the transport logistics to transport convicted migrants from the detention centres to the Mexican board AND various central american countries. Estimates vary depending upon how hard you go and how quick (ie 1m first year or 5m), but numbers of $200-300b a year are being discussed

But why is cost even an issue? Mexico is going to pay for it

 

[GreyCrow]

But why is cost even an issue? Mexico is going to pay for it

Yeah but which side of the wall will the Mexican builders come from?

Be like grape picking here.

 

[Inferno]

Yeah but which side of the wall will the Mexican builders come from?

Be like grape picking here.

Dunno, I presume Trump has this all planned as I'm sure he does with most of his promises.