Dear Editor,
In order to address immigration concerns Donald J. Trump, during his presidency, had pledged that a top priority of his administration was to build a wall on our southern border, which would be paid in full by Mexico, in order to strongly discourage illegal immigration from Mexico into the United States, which was to be completed during his first term in office. In addition, in a recent town hall meeting hosted by CNN, former President Trump unequivocally stated that the aforementioned wall had indeed been "fully constructed and stretches 1,954 miles between the United States and Mexico."
However, as reported by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, in actuality only 458 miles of the wall had been completed, and that only 52 miles of the newly constructed wall covered areas where a border wall had not previously existed, with the additional 406 miles only enhancing and/or replacing "shock barriers" at a cost of $14 billion, which was paid with U.S. Department of Defense Funds, and authorized by the U.S. Congress with absolutely no payment, whatsoever, for the aforementioned project being made by Mexico.
In actuality the number of illegal border crossings dramatically increased during the Trump presidency, with the number of illegal crossings actually more than doubling during Mr. Trump's tenure in the White House, until the onset of COVID-19.
In addition, it has been reported that the construction of the Trump Wall has actually "damaged streams, creating rapid erosion," in surrounding areas.
Perhaps in the 21st century, such a barrier, which may well, if indeed constructed, could actually prove to be an ineffective relic from the past, while other more effective, and more humane, methods should be considered?
Sadly, the aforementioned is yet another example of Mr. Trump's "war on reality and reason," of those there have been a great many to date, and counting.
Richard Hord
Martins Ferry