A view of Guadelupe Canyon, Arizona, facing east, with switchback roads in the distance. Since this photograph was taken, a 100-foot canyon has been blasted here.The rush to complete President Trump's border wall with Mexico is in some places worse than pointless, campaigners have told Insider.
Witnesses to the work in Arizona told Insider that mountainous locations of the border are easier to reach now than when Trump took power four years ago, as the part-finished process involved building new roads over rough terrain.But sources told Insider they've seen a resulting increase in incursions in these weak spots, which were previously too inhospitable to be much of a security concern.
In September 2019, Trump promised that 450 miles of new wall would be done by the end of 2020. Government contractors such as Southwest Valley Construction andAccording to CBP, as of December 31, 398 more miles of border were newly walled off than when Trump took office. Along 54 miles, the agency said a second barrier had been added to the first.
CBP spokesperson John Mennell pushed back, saying that the work was necessary and did not in fact harm border security. "We're talking about a massive, monumental scale of new roads being bulldozed through pristine wilderness land," Jordahl told Insider. A switchback road creeping up a mountain in Coronado National Forest, Arizona. Mexico is on the right.The zigzag paths allows trucks, loaded with dynamite, to overcome gradients of up to 90%.
He argued that any increased access from these roads cuts both ways, as law enforcement can also use them to respond more quickly to illegal crossings. As part of CBP's argument, Mennell said that any access created by these roads will be blocked by the wall itself, but did not address how this would work in areas which do not — and may never — have any wall built.Kurc, the photographer, has watched dramatic changes across Arizona's mountain landscape. Here, where the border passes through inhospitable areas like Guadelupe Canyon, deep ravines have been blasted through the mountains to make way for the wall.
Thank you for trying to protect us Mr. President. I’m very concerned for this country’s safety now that you will be leaving office. I’m afraid we (as a nation) will be destroyed.
Can't wait for it to fall down and never come back
Trump was simply fooling his base. It was never his desire to reduce immigration from Mexico. He was simply using the wall as a ruse to rile up his base.