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Last updated on: 7/31/2019 11:50:51 AM PST

Should the US Continue to Build a Border Wall at the US/Mexico Border?

The US-Mexico border had about 654 miles of barriers before President Trump took office. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised to build a wall along the entire border, which spans about 2,000 miles. US Customs and Border Protection announced in July 2019 that 50 miles of new wall projects had been completed, and that it had received funding for 201 to 205 miles of new border barriers. For more information, visit our Pro and Con quotes on this topic.
Source: US Customs and Border Protection, "CBP Completes Construction of 50 Miles of New Border Wall," cbp.gov, July 11, 2019
Pro
Donald Trump
Trump

Con
Joe Biden
Biden
Howie Hawkins
Hawkins
Jo Jorgensen
Jorgensen
Not Clear or Not Found





Pro (Yes)

Pro
Donald Trump
Trump
Republican

"My administration has presented Congress with a detailed proposal to secure the border and stop the criminal gangs, drug smugglers and human traffickers. It's a tremendous problem...

[A]s part of an overall approach to border security, law enforcement professionals have requested $5.7 billion for a physical barrier. At the request of Democrats, it will be a steel barrier rather than a concrete wall. This barrier is absolutely critical to border security. It’s also what our professionals at the border want and need. This is just common sense.

The border wall would very quickly pay for itself. The cost of illegal drugs exceeds $500 billion a year — vastly more than the $5.7 billion we have requested from Congress. The wall will also be paid for, indirectly, by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico...

Some have suggested a barrier is immoral. Then why do wealthy politicians build walls, fences, and gates around their homes? They don't build walls because they hate the people on the outside, but because they love the people on the inside."

Source: Donald Trump, "President Donald J. Trump’s Address to the Nation on the Crisis at the Border," whitehouse.gov, Jan. 8, 2019
Con (No)

Now Con
Joe Biden
Biden
Democrat

"There will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration. I’m gonna make sure that we have border protection, but it’s going to be based on making sure that we use high-tech capacity to deal with it and at the ports of entry — that's where all the bad stuff is at."

Source: Justine Coleman, "Biden Says He Would Stop Border Wall Construction as President," thehill.com, Aug. 6, 2020

[Editor's Note: Biden previously expressed a PRO opinion on this question. Read Biden's former position on whether to continue building a US/Mexico border wall.]
Con
Howie Hawkins
Hawkins
Green

"No."

Source: Email from Kevin Zeese with the Hawkins campaign, July 2, 2020
Con
Jo Jorgensen
Jorgensen
Libertarian

"No. Trump's use of emergency military funds to build a wall was unconstitutional, a gross expansion of presidential powers, and will prove ineffective at stopping illegal immigration."

Source: Communication from the Jorgensen campaign to ProCon.org on Aug. 26, 2020



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