HOW THE rIGHT LEARNED TO LOVE KELO AND BIG GOVERNMENT:

 To get an accurate picture of the state of the border, below we analyze the land it's on, the physical barriers already erected there, the Border Patrol resources on-site, and the recent changes it has seen to immigration patterns. [...]

Most of the land on the border isn't owned by the federal government.

Only one-third of the land on which the southern border is located is owned by the federal government or Native American tribes--the rest is largely state property or farmland owned by individual ranchers.4 Sixty-six percent of the total land on the border is owned by states or individuals, most of which is located along the Rio Grande River in Texas.5 That means in order to build any structures there, the federal government must either receive permission from each individual landowner whose property will be affected or must exercise its powers of eminent domain to take possession of the land. Eminent domain law allows the government to forcibly take privately-owned land for public use--even over the objections of the owners--so long as they are reimbursed for the fair value of the land. While the federal government has the power to use eminent domain for public projects, it is extremely unpopular both in Congress and with the public, and court challenges from landowners can stall the process for years and cost the government millions of dollars in legal costs.6 The last time the federal government undertook construction of a fence on the southern border, hundreds of lawsuits were filed by private landowners.7 And in many cases, once the land had been seized and fencing built, farmers saw their crops torn out, and they ended up living in a "no-man's land" south of the existing fence. 8

International treaty obligations limit government action on much of the border.

Not only is the border complicated by its topography and ownership, it is also subject to international treaty law. In 1970, the United States and Mexico signed a treaty that restricts construction along the Rio Grande and prohibits disrupting the river's natural flow. Because the river itself is the border between the United States and Mexico, any changes to its flow or course can alter the boundary between the countries.9 As a result, both countries are restricted from building in the river or within its flood plain if doing so would increase flooding on its banks or affect the course of the river. Establishing any physical barriers along the Rio Grande requires either joint approval from the U.S. and Mexico via the International Boundary and Water Commission or that any structure be built sufficiently inland to avoid impacting the river.10 This treaty obligation significantly curtails where and how a physical barrier can be constructed along much of the southern border, and in many cases, it requires the government of Mexico to approve of structures built even on the U.S. side. [...]

Customs and Border Protection, tasked with enforcing American immigration policy at its borders, is the largest federal law enforcement agency in the country. The federal government spends more on border and immigration enforcement than on all of the other federal law enforcement agencies combined. Today that amount is nearly $20 billion per year--a 12-fold increase since the 1990s.

The Border Patrol has quadrupled in size since 2001.

Within Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol is tasked with intercepting and detaining undocumented immigrants entering the United States. During the past two presidential administrations, the Border Patrol has grown extensively both in budget and personnel. Annual federal spending on the border has nearly quadrupled in the last 15 years, from $1.1 billion in 2001 to nearly $4 billion today.26 And in that time, Congress has also authorized an additional $1.5 billion to increase security at border checkpoints.27

At the beginning of the George W. Bush Administration, the Border Patrol employed roughly 4,000 agents. By the time the Obama Administration took office, that number had increased to 9,000. Today there are more than 21,000 Border Patrol agents--a number that even exceeds the build-up written into President Bush's immigration bill in 2006. Seventeen thousand of those agents are currently deployed along the border between the United States and Mexico, including hundreds on horseback who patrol rugged terrain otherwise difficult to access. [...]

Conclusion

Today the southern border is the most secure it has ever been in the history of our nation. Border security spending is at an all-time high, while immigration is stagnant and apprehensions are nearing historic lows. Increases in border security in the last 16 years have revolutionized what the border looks like, how it is protected, and the ways in which people enter the United States. There is no doubt the country's immigration system is broken, but its flaws do not lie along the border with Mexico. President Trump's executive order requiring construction of a wall across the border will cost taxpayers upwards of $25 billion, without making them any safer or the border any more secure. That undertaking is akin to building a wall from San Diego, California, to Chicago, Illinois--and it would be about as effective.

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