Every time I see the thread title, I have to suppress the urge to make a joke about how Trump's wall isnt breaking, because it is already broken. Obviously I just failed. #dadjokes
Congress did give him the power, but none of these show that the need has risen to the level of emergency l to enact those powers. The article in the Hill talks about other presidential instances of circumventing Congress more than it does about actual states of emergency. It discusses Obama using executive power to alter the priorities of enforcing immigration law since Congress didn't pass the reforms that he had hoped. That is different than constructing a wall under the guise of a crisis or emergency. If Trump wanted to change the priorities of enforcement, he would be allowed to do that. He could declare that 95% of all border patrol enforcement be done at the southern border. It isn't what Congress would want, but he could do that. It doesn't require him to declare a national state of emergency and build a wall. Trump wanting to do something and not being able to get funding to do it, doesn't qualify as a national emergency.
As a former contestant on ABC's Battle of the Network Stars, I know that walls can be climbed really quickly and they illegal immigrants can also complete the rest of the obstacle course as well.
There are people who can climb walls quickly, but most people can't at all.....and that's why they work, something we all were allowed to admit just a few years ago. Even among those capable of scaling a wall that size, it greatly slows them down, making the job of border patrol considerably easier. Seriously guy, you have to know this is a losing argument so why not just attempt to pivot past this and to something where you can actually defend the position the DNC has taken?
You've already lost. They can use a ladder. It doesn't slow them down enough. A ladder and a mattress to get over barbed wire might slow them down a bit more, but not really enough to make a difference. The wall is idiotic. You disagree, that's fine.
LOL have you ever seen average men, women, and children attempting to climb a 20 foot ladder? Also, a mattress? C'mon man, I know you have an impossible task in making the Democrats' ridiculous position that is entirely based in "orange man bad" politics seem sensible.
Walls are great. They slow down people, divert them, discourage them, and are used as part of an overall defense program. Do you think Castles only used walls? No they had tons of other defense mechanisms and people manning them. A wall is an effective tool, but obviously not impervious. Anyone arguing that "a wall just won't work, because ladders" is fighting a strawman. Obviously people can get around walls when they really want to. That doesn't mean they don't serve a set of specific purposes. Walls: 1. Slow people down. Giving authorities time to respond and increase the chance of stopping people. 2. Divert people to places where authorities managing traffic want them to go. 3. Discourage people from going to certain places, such as a desert where they may die. 4. Can be beaten, but not by everyone and not without work. So yes, they do stop a lot of people. 5. Are part of an overall defense network, and work in tandem with other methods of Border Security. Yes, you can get over a wall, or go under it in tunnels. But that is a strawman. We all know these things. Why do you think many Castles had two or three sets of walls? They didn't stop using walls once they were breached. No, they built more walls and got more creative. You see this with the addition of curtain walls, moats, ditches, draw bridges, turrets, towers, lookout points, murder holes, barbicans, arrow slits, parapets, improved materials, better designs, and gate houses. We can build a wall, and get more creative, for an effective defense of the border. Obviously with modern tech, not old world tech or even addtional walls. That said, I don't think a full wall is needed. I would like better walls and more of them, but open areas should be left in key places for wildlife migration, so I am not sure if Slats are enough for this. These choke points could be used effetively for catching people as well. Build the wall is a nice slogan for an election, but in reality, I support multiple walls in different places, with open choke points made to trap people with other means. This would be way more clever and useful, and be friendlier to wildlife.
The most important takeaway from your article should be obvious but apparently it had to be spelled out for some of you guys. The prototypes "were not and cannot be designed to be indestructible," but were designed to "impede or deny efforts to scale, breach, or dig under such a barrier, giving agents time to respond."
They slow down or stop everyone. Even people who are amazing climbers who can get over it relatively quickly are slowed down compared to if there was no wall whatsoever and that makes it easier for Border Patrol to catch them.
