2021/5/31
©Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
A sheriff concerned about migration on the US-Mexico border - Sheriff of Val Verde County in Texas, Joe Frank Martinez is concerned about the issue of migration. - dpa
The fence in the small Texas town of Del Rio along the border with Mexico had existed long before Donald Trump had even considered becoming president. The black fence, about three-and-a-half metres high, runs for just over 3 kilometres.
But Trump wanted to make a big gesture and so ordered a wall built along long stretches of the border. In Del Rio, the new barrier was supposed to replace the previous fence. But since the end of January, and Trump's departure from office, nothing has happened at the site.
As one of his first acts, US President Joe Biden shut down his predecessor's pet project by halting funding, calling it a waste of money that draws attention away from real threats to US security.
Workers in Del Rio also left. Now, the original fence runs parallel in several places with the sections of the new border wall. Deep trenches wait in vain for more sections of the wall to be embedded.
Local Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez is particularly annoyed about two spots where gaps between the fence and wall have been temporarily joined with fine wire mesh fencing. "It's an eyesore," he complains.
Martinez says that in principle, he could do without the new fence.
"The structure we have there did its job. Were people able to climb up? Yes, but I don't think we had that many crossings because of it."
The fence, he said, ensured that criminals couldn't disappear into residential neighbourhoods at any point after crossing the river.
That, he said, has ensured safety in the city, and the crime rate has dropped. If Martinez had his way, the new fence should now either be completed - or the old fence should be put back together.
Trump had promised before his election as president in 2016 to build a "beautiful wall" along the US' roughly 3,200-kilometre southern border to keep out immigrants, drug-smugglers and other criminals.
After Congress denied him funding for the controversial project, Trump circumvented the blockade and had funds from the defence budget reallocated to the wall. Part of Trump's promise had been that Mexico would pay for the construction, but that never ended up happening.
According to official figures, just under 730 kilometres of Trump's project have been completed. For the most part, the wall replaces existing and outdated border installations - as seen in Del Rio.
Biden's decision to stop the project had won praise from environmentalists, among others. Activist Laiken Jordahl spoke of "horrible wounds" the project had caused Arizona's wilderness.
From Sheriff Leon Wilmot's point of view, however, Biden is putting national security at risk with his decision. Planned work has also ground to a halt in Wilmot's Yuma County in the western state of Arizona, but not before 185 kilometres of the wall had already been built, he says.
Wilmot's main concern is Mexican drug cartels, which he says exploit the openness of the deserts to bring narcotics into the US.
The new administration is doing the opposite of what Border Patrol experts thought was needed to secure the border, he says, adding that Biden would be ill-advised to undo everything Trump pushed through.
Biden has broken with Trump's crackdown on the southern border: Underage migrants will no longer be deported, families separated at the border will be reunited. While Biden generally adheres to an immigration freeze ordered by Trump due to the pandemic, according to media reports, exceptions are being made for the vulnerable.
The opposition Republicans say these more liberal migration policies have encouraged people to try to cross the border illegally. Would Trump's border wall have helped? It seems that it'll never be known.
The fence in the small Texas town of Del Rio along the border with Mexico had existed long before Donald Trump had even considered becoming president. The black fence, about three-and-a-half metres high, runs for just over 3 kilometres.
But Trump wanted to make a big gesture and so ordered a wall built along long stretches of the border. In Del Rio, the new barrier was supposed to replace the previous fence. But since the end of January, and Trump's departure from office, nothing has happened at the site.
As one of his first acts, US President Joe Biden shut down his predecessor's pet project by halting funding, calling it a waste of money that draws attention away from real threats to US security.
Workers in Del Rio also left. Now, the original fence runs parallel in several places with the sections of the new border wall. Deep trenches wait in vain for more sections of the wall to be embedded.
Local Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez is particularly annoyed about two spots where gaps between the fence and wall have been temporarily joined with fine wire mesh fencing. "It's an eyesore," he complains.
Martinez says that in principle, he could do without the new fence.
"The structure we have there did its job. Were people able to climb up? Yes, but I don't think we had that many crossings because of it."
The fence, he said, ensured that criminals couldn't disappear into residential neighbourhoods at any point after crossing the river.
That, he said, has ensured safety in the city, and the crime rate has dropped. If Martinez had his way, the new fence should now either be completed - or the old fence should be put back together.
Trump had promised before his election as president in 2016 to build a "beautiful wall" along the US' roughly 3,200-kilometre southern border to keep out immigrants, drug-smugglers and other criminals.
After Congress denied him funding for the controversial project, Trump circumvented the blockade and had funds from the defence budget reallocated to the wall. Part of Trump's promise had been that Mexico would pay for the construction, but that never ended up happening.
According to official figures, just under 730 kilometres of Trump's project have been completed. For the most part, the wall replaces existing and outdated border installations - as seen in Del Rio.
Biden's decision to stop the project had won praise from environmentalists, among others. Activist Laiken Jordahl spoke of "horrible wounds" the project had caused Arizona's wilderness.
From Sheriff Leon Wilmot's point of view, however, Biden is putting national security at risk with his decision. Planned work has also ground to a halt in Wilmot's Yuma County in the western state of Arizona, but not before 185 kilometres of the wall had already been built, he says.
Wilmot's main concern is Mexican drug cartels, which he says exploit the openness of the deserts to bring narcotics into the US.
The new administration is doing the opposite of what Border Patrol experts thought was needed to secure the border, he says, adding that Biden would be ill-advised to undo everything Trump pushed through.
Biden has broken with Trump's crackdown on the southern border: Underage migrants will no longer be deported, families separated at the border will be reunited. While Biden generally adheres to an immigration freeze ordered by Trump due to the pandemic, according to media reports, exceptions are being made for the vulnerable.
The opposition Republicans say these more liberal migration policies have encouraged people to try to cross the border illegally. Would Trump's border wall have helped? It seems that it'll never be known.
No comments:
Post a Comment