Susan Collins’ decision to give Maine’s support to the border wall is disheartening and seems yet another sign of democracies escalating erosion under the autocratic bullying of the Trump administration. I spent years working along the vastly beautiful Texas/Mexico border and there is a reason Representatives from this region are against an environmentally devastating divide that will not serve its own purpose. This includes Will Hurd, a Republican and former CIA operations officer in Afghanistan who represents 820 miles of border communities from El Paso to San Antonio. Hurd has referred to walls as the most expensive and least effective way to secure the border. We need 5.7 billion dollars for infrastructure that will actually keep us safer; new roads, new bridges, updated water systems, and better schools, not a massive dysfunctional symbol of presidential ego fueled by racism.
Sarah Loftus
Farmington, Maine
Thank you esteemed Editor!
@Michael Breault – in my previous comment I was not referring to your post with missing links. I figured it would get straightened out; glad to see it did. I specifically meant Mr. Erb’s many posts without a single link, other than to his own blog, to back up his opinions.
Thank you for your time and effort to find links to useful information that we can all ponder.
A number of posters have mentioned their knowledge of the US-Mexican border. It’s been more than 20 years since I was there, just in parts of Texas and California, so I wondered how to see what’s going there without being able to invest the time and money for a trip like that.
USA Today recently created an interactive map so we could do just that. A simple way to get an idea of the magnitude of a Build the Wall project.
us-mexico-interactive-border-map
That tour of the border shows exactly why we need more barriers. Imagine trying to patrol all those miles with such limited resources. More physical barriers (walls/fences) would cut down the response time and allow our dedicated law enforcement professionals to focus their efforts on a smaller area. Thank you for showing us this fact Michael
Would the proposed border wall stop this?
https://www.businessinsider.com/coast-guard-cant-stop-most-of-the-cocaine-it-sees-headed-for-the-us-2018-11
https://miami.cbslocal.com/tag/drug-seizure/
https://wreg.com/2019/02/05/us-coast-guard-seizes-35000-pounds-of-cocaine-in-pacific/
That wall would have to be even longer, deeper and taller than “the big beautiful wall” as proposed, don’t you think? The situation of protecting our borders, reducing drug imports, improving public safety needs a more focused effort than another brick in a wall…..
Have our border control folks get together, and decide how to host effectively invest another 5 billion a year for border security, in each of the next ten years…see how much they would suggest putting into new wall construction, compared to highly mobile enforcement agents, current high-tech sensors….etc, etc…
The question is moot. The GOP does not want another shut down, and they’ve told the President they will not support declaring a national emergency. Democrats and Republicans will agree to a bill that will have fencing and technological improvements, and both sides will declare victory. The wall is dead. But the good news is that both parties agree on enhanced border security.