Hadrian’s Wall, the Limes Germanicus, the Great Wall of China. All were barriers against barbarians. Well, we may not have to go quite that far when it comes to the American border with Mexico. But any nation, just as those above, has a right, if not an obligation, to live within secure borders. Given the drug cartel action on the Mexican side of our border, not to mention current public health concerns, the president is right to expedite the building of the wall on our Southern border. If he loses reelection, it could be a lasting positive legacy. The Wall Street Journal details it.

“The Trump administration is building new sections of a wall on the nation’s southern border wherever it can and as quickly as it can to try to meet the president’s goal of building 450 miles by the end of this year. President Trump set the goal about a year ago and, to fulfill it, contractors are building largely on land the federal government already owns, including in areas where illegal border crossings have been relatively low in recent years. In some cases, the new wall is replacing a shorter border fence installed in the late 2000s. In other locations, new stretches of wall are being built where previous administrations opted for barriers designed to stop only cars or where the rugged terrain already serves as a natural barrier. Administration officials have said the project is necessary to keep people from crossing the border illegally, arguing the government can’t afford to wait for any specific section of the border to become a hot spot before building barriers there.”

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As such, in a speech in Arizona on Thursday, acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said every part of the wall being built currently is “new, whether we are constructing it in places where no barriers existed before or we’re replacing 5-foot steel barriers with an 18-foot to a 30-foot bollard-style wall complemented with roads, enforcement cameras, and other related technology.”

To amplify the point, in Tucson last week, Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott said the new wall system has freed up CBP agents to operate in more remote areas where the likelihood of smugglers and human traffickers is greater.  “Every mile of border system is an investment with an immediate return on investment to the American taxpayers.” The president knows this and has acted accordingly.