So I visited The Wall, plus several other areas on the Southern border. Here's what I learned.https://www.wsj.com/articles/no-wall-can-fill-holes-in-the-law-11558479552 …
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I don't know why, but it really surprised me to see that on both sides of the border, businesses & homes are within footsteps of the wall.
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This can be a problem for border security. The old fence in an area I visited was 8-10ft high. Migrants could climb over & run into a home on the U.S. side whose residents had been paid off by smugglers. Or they could simply stroll into the shops and fade into the population.
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The new wall mostly stops that. It's not 100% impenetrable (no wall is) and it ends pretty abruptly a few miles down the road. But the wall helps divert traffic to areas that are more easy to police. Look at it as a tactical advantage, not a fail-proof barrier.pic.twitter.com/4t9ORODPWq
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So you may be thinking that white vehicle barrier looks pretty easy to climb. It is. I could do it wearing a skirt and an ankle brace for a recent sprain.pic.twitter.com/rWpoL9STVT
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Here's another portion I visited that's also pretty easy to cross...pic.twitter.com/Z0vg2sAiHw
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But in really rural areas like this, it's much harder to avoid getting apprehended. Border agents know the wall has shifted illegal crossings to more more rural parts, so they put manpower there.
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Border infrastructure is a constant cat-and-mouse game. This gate doesn't look like much, but it is a great example of this.pic.twitter.com/QYOLsgAeIJ
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Smugglers were transporting drugs, and perhaps people, here. After the gate went up, traffic paused until the smugglers figured out they could slip under the poles in a go-kart.
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Border agents added a lower tier to the gate. Smugglers then started using small motorcycles, which they flipped sideways to scoot under the barrier. Border agents welded another section onto the gate, dusting the ground.pic.twitter.com/kK1G1ae24w
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Anyway, I found the border security/wall discussion much more easy to understand with some visuals. So I hope this was helpful!
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Also, check out my article in today's
@WSJopinion! It gets into more detail and analysis. And it explains this crazy photo.https://www.wsj.com/articles/no-wall-can-fill-holes-in-the-law-11558479552 …Show this thread
End of conversation
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