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By: Jim Lafferty, host, The Lawyers Guild Show; and Executive Director Emeritus, L.A. Lawyers Guild
In the 2016 presidential race, one of Donald Trump's keys to victory was his xenophobic promise to stop immigrants from crossing our border with Mexico, by promising to build, “the most beautiful wall you've ever seen” at the U.S./ Mexican border. And when he'd repeat this pledge at his campaign rallies, his crowds would scream back, “Build the Wall!, Build the Wall!” And when he'd then ask, “And who's going to pay for the Wall?”, the crowd would roar back its reply, “Mexico!”
Not surprising, then, that Trump is trying like mad, during his last few weeks in office, to build as many more miles of wall that he can. In fact, on behalf of Trump's madness, a 3-mile long barrier is currently being built that will seal off an extremely critical migratory corridor for wildlife between the two countries, threatening multiple species. According to Randy Serraglio, of the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, these “Interconnected landscapes that stretch across two countries are being converted into an industrial wasteland and permitting 90% less movement by mountain lions, bobcats and javelinas” on their migratory routes. Trump's eleventh-hour plans also call for wall building that will cut off access to wildlife refuges and intuitionist territories; that will do great environmental damage, and that will prevent multiple species of animals from moving freely.
Those of us opposing Trump's promise to build his hateful wall were horrified at the idea of building a “Berlin-style war” on our border with Mexico. And because Trump was so vocal and so repetitive in promising to build his wall, it was always in the public's eye, and in the media. Protests were organized in opposition to the wall. Democratic members of Congress opposed spending tax dollar money on the wall, as it quickly became clear that Mexico was not, contrary to Trump's claims, going to build it for him.
All of this is well known. But, what is surprising and not well known is that if the Democratic Members of Congress, and their supporters, would have been as opposed to border walls during the Obama/Biden administration, we'd have a hell-of-a-lot fewer miles of the border wall between us and Mexico today.
Why? Well, it's really quite simple. During the Obama/Biden Administration's first term, and at their administration's urging, Congress passed the Secure Fence Act of 2011. And during the Obama/Biden Administration, the U.S. Government built 650 miles of fencing, of the wall, between the U.S. And Mexico. To put this ugly fact into context, the Trump Administration has only built 400 miles of the wall so far. And you can be sure that part of Trump's reason for his eleventh-hour attempt to build more miles of wall is because he hates to think Obama was better at anything than he is.
During the recent presidential campaign, then-candidate Biden pledged “not another foot” of the wall that would be built in his administration. Odd, given Biden's strong support for the Obama/Biden Secure Fence Act and its ultimate 650 miles of border barrier.
Even if Biden decides to honor his pledge, it won't be easy, or inexpensive to do so. Thanks to Trump, more than 2 dozen construction projects are underway, and contracts have been signed with at least 5 construction companies, totaling $7 billion dollars. According to governmental agency officials, Biden will find it difficult and expensive to abandon the on-going work and get out of the signed contracts. And even if he does, getting out would still leave abandoned towers towering over sensitive borderlands.
When pressed on how Biden intends to keep his pledge of not one more foot of the wall and get out of the contracts and on-going construction, his team has refused to answer the question.
So, bottom line: As matters now stand, the main culprit responsible for the US/Mexico border wall is not Trump, it's Obama and Biden. And if we are to finally end the construction of this abomination, this immoral blight on the American people, we must wise up. We must give up the illusion that it's only one of the two capitalist parties that do the dirtiest of deeds. And we must do what we did when Trump was in office: we've got to keep the pressure on a president Biden to keep his promise of not one more foot of the wall, whatever the cost in getting out of the Trump initiated construction contracts. And that means protesting in the streets and demanding our elected representatives shut down, and tear down the wall!
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