President Biden expands Mexican border wall - but can it stop crossings?

Upon first glance, Starr County in the heart of Texas presents a serene tableau. Its rolling hills are graced with the understated beauty of low-growing mesquite and shrubs, crisscrossed by meandering gullies and streams. Within its small, tranquil towns, it seems as though time itself has been plucked from the pages of bygone Western tales.

Yet, in this quietude, the US-Mexico border is never distant. On peaceful days in places like Roma, the laughter of residents and the harmonious playfulness of children blend seamlessly with the crowing of roosters, their voices echoing across the Rio Grande.

For decades, this county's distinctive blend of environment, proximity to the river, and accessibility to highways has made it a bustling crossing point for migrants. Now, it finds itself thrust into the crucible of the heated US border security debate.

In a surprising twist, the Biden administration recently unveiled plans to construct a roughly 20-mile (32km) stretch of border wall in this region. This announcement starkly contrasts with then-candidate Joe Biden's resolute pledge in 2020 that he would not erect "another foot of wall" during his presidency. Indeed, he halted construction on his very first day in office.

While President Biden and his officials assert that this new border wall section is reluctantly going up due to funds specifically allocated by the Trump administration in 2019, the announcement has reignited the fiery debate surrounding this contentious border control measure, once a hallmark policy of former President Trump.

In sum, the former president ordered the refurbishment and reinforcement of just under 460 miles (740km) of border wall, with approximately 50 miles (80km) constituting entirely new construction. Since his departure from office, Mr. Trump and certain Republican lawmakers have called for further border barriers to be erected, spurred by the rising number of migrants at the southern border.

The efficacy of border walls has evolved into a fiercely contested and deeply political discussion. While Department of Homeland Security data from late 2020 suggests that new walls significantly reduced illegal entries in some sectors by nearly 90%, academic studies have posited more modest impacts.

One analysis, rooted in data from the Cato Institute, revealed that Border Patrol apprehensions and successful illegal crossings persisted even before the Trump administration's tenure concluded, suggesting that the wall ultimately fell short of its intended goals.

A third study, published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, asserted that border barriers curtailed migration by 35%. However, it found no compelling evidence that these barriers outperformed the alternative of utilizing funding to recruit more border agents.

The Biden administration, in clear and unwavering terms, has consistently maintained its skepticism about the effectiveness of these physical barriers.