The Atlantic

$5 Billion Could Buy a Lot of Border Security

Fixing the asylum system, upgrading ports of entry, and tightening security checkpoints might do more to advance Trump’s goals than a wall.
Source: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump pledged to reduce illegal immigration from Central America, and since taking office he has paired that vow with professed concerns about not just the flow of asylum seekers into the United States, but the smuggling of drugs and the potential entry of terrorists, too. That, in his telling, is why he wants $5 billion from Congress for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

But what if there were other—better—ways of achieving the president’s goals than spending $5 billion on a wall?

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