Trump says that the Wall would cost $10 billion and that Mexico would pay for it. He originally claimed it would only cost about half of that. He’s wrong.
First, Mexico won’t pay for it. On Trumps campaign page the very first discussion is about the Wall. Trump plans to extort the money from Mexico by threatening higher tariffs, cutting off wire transfers of money to Mexican families from US based immigrants, and threatening trade. The Mexican President has already said, “Hell no. We won’t pay for it!”.
Second, the actual cost of the wall is vastly underestimated. Experts say that a 1000 mile long wall (not 1986 miles) would cost between $15-25 billion. That’s only the cost of materials, construction and labor. It doesn’t take into account the environmental damage, the cost of acquiring land, court cases, environmental studies. It also doesn’t take into account the amount of water it would require to produce the concrete necessary to build the wall. All construction of the precast concrete panels would have to take place within 200 miles of the border. Otherwise transportation costs would be prohibitive. This would require building new concrete plants and roads. Each of the 300,000 truck loads of 20 tons each would cause considerable wear and tear on the nations highways. The cost of repairs to the infrastructure caused by these huge loads hasn’t been calculated. In addition there would be 180,000 40 ton truckloads of dirt (excavated for the foundations) that would have to be disposed (enough to cover 37 acres 100 feet high).
There are many good sources for the estimates:
www.washingtonpost.com/...
fronterasdesk.org/...
Now, here’s the kicker. This is only for a wall that is 1000 miles in length and only for the easiest part to build. Long stretches through the mountains of southern New Mexico would be missed, as well as parts of Texas and Arizona. But even if you could finish the 1986 miles of the Wall, it would cost far more than double the easy part. In addition, because of the enormous requirement for water in a drought stricken area, it just isn’t feasible.
In many areas the Wall is mostly a fence. For long stretches it amounts to four strands of barbed wire, and in other areas just fenceposts. If a Wall were built to the height of 35-40 feet it would be sunk about 7 ft into the ground. A tunnel could easily be dug lower than that. In short, even Trump’s 40 ft. high wall would do almost nothing to stop someone determined to come into the US.
Besides, there are easier ways to get into the US that don’t even involve going over a wall. Currently illegals pay up to $5000 to get across the wall. 60% of them make it. Why not put that $5000 in a bank account to show that you are financially stable, apply for a visa to visit, fly to Minnesota to shop at the Mall of America, and walk away. If you’re planning on coming to America illegally, why not do it in comfort?
Trump hasn’t done the numbers. It will be interesting to see what he says here in Phoenix on Wednesday.