All civil engineering projects share the basic demand for building materials. To be exact, the make-or-break point hinges on how to get what the builder needs. In ancient Egypt, a pharaoh couldn't get tons and tons of pyramid-building materials without a barge fleet on the Nile. No Nile. No pyramid.

The Rio Grande that runs as the US-Mexico borderline is no Nile. So, forget barge fleets. There's no easy access to the wall-building sites over desolate landscapes, either. This being the case, a costly access road network has to be put in place so that workers, equipment and materials can be rendered available to wall-building. 

Indeed, a fine but over-budget road network has been put in place to make Trump's wall possible. However, even with American (not Mexican) taxpayers on the hook, Trump's wall is no Maginot Line, although it may well be Maginot-expensive. But, as the Maginot Line failed to stop the invading Germans, Trump's wall hasn't exactly kept unwelcome guests out, given its breachable nooks and crannies. Anyway, if one can't go through it, one can often go around it. Once on the American side, illegal immigrants, drug smugglers and human traffickers can take full advantage of Trump's access road network and breeze farther into America. At the same time, if his access road network is taken out, Trump's wall will crumble due to a lack of regular maintenance. It is a Catch-22 situation, isn't it?

Trump's wall defeats its purpose. Someone might want to paint it over with white elephants. 

My criticism of Trump here is no vindication of Biden's dubious immigration policy. Given its unpassible landscapes, the Southern border is largely a natural barrier, some of which is now ironically covered by Trump's access road network (see above). Needless to say, all the weak points warrant well-armed, well-supported border patrol. By the way, fair-minded legal immigrants, perhaps more than native-born Americans, are against illegal immigration as a matter of principle.

Author: Lingyang Jiang