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Back when President Joe Biden was presiding over essentially open U.S. borders, Iarguedthat, contrary to leftist wishes, border walls actually do work. They are not intended to stop everyone coming through, by any means, but to stop illegal people, goods and drugs getting through easily.
Now the Department ofHomeland Security is using “smart walls” that combinehigh-tech with good old-fashioned tall, strong barriers to prevent illegal entry. The idea is not new, even if the technology is.
The ancient Romanshad an early version ofsmart walls. AtHadrian’s Wall in what is now northern England, the Roman Empire established a wall to mark their northern frontier, punctuated by forts. Vindolandais the best preserved large fort, with the layout still visible in stone foundations and a wealth of archeological finds tohelp us guess what every building was.
Under President Donald Trump, encounters of illegal aliens at the border between ports of entry are about a tenth of what they were in the peak Biden months. (Getty Images)
Starting in the 1970s, archeologists found remarkably well-preserved personal items, due to the ideal conditions of the surrounding soil. There were not just durable coins, metal, glass and stone, but even leather shoes and clothes, as well as a trove of letters writtenonthin wood that departing troopshad failed to burn. We know a lot abouthow they lived and worked, communicated, and ran their army.
TRUMP SENDS MILITARY AFTER THE CARTELS AND IT’S LONG OVERDUE
A “dumb wall” would be just putting up a barrier andhoping noone could get over, under or around it. The Romans didn’t relyonthat. First, though their wall was easy to cross, it created a visible frontier that any northern tribes would be aware of and thus know they were crossing without permission into Roman territory. The occasionalheadona spike, evidence of which was found at Vindolanda, was a primitive warning to the illiterate tribes to the north that maybe proceeding further was a bad idea. That’s what today we’d call psychological operations, or “psy-ops.”
Second, like the U.S. southern border barrier system, the Roman wall in northern Britain alsohad early models of signals intelligence to better direct resources to areas under threat. Vindolanda was manned by a cohort, about 500 men or a tenth of a legion. The men wentonregular foot andhorseback patrol. They were ready to move to wherever a threat presented, warned either byhorse-borne messengers or by signal fires lit athigh points along the frontier. They received regular correspondence from the other forts, and occasionally from Rome itself, to keep them informed.
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TRUMP’S BORDER ENFORCEMENT UNLEASHES NEW WEAPON AGAINST ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
Two thousand years later, the modern U.S. Border Patrolhas more men than the Romans did in Britain, but they are still few compared to the land they cover. The Border Patrol is getting some much-needed new manpower and resources, after years of neglect under Biden and former Secretary ofHomeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who diverted staff off the line to processing and releasing illegal aliens into the country.
But even with the significant boost they are getting in theOne Big Beautiful Bill Act, they will still be thinly spread along 1,800 miles of southern border and nearly 5,000 in the north. That’s why, like Roman signal fires and messengers,high-tech cameras, sensors, drones and lightsonthe wall or around the border area can allhelp detect illegal crossings early, so that the Patrol can send vehicles and officers quickly to intercept them.
Under Biden, illegal aliens were so confident of being released that they gladly surrendered to any American in uniform. Millions were released over Biden’s four years. Under President Donald Trump,however, thingshave completely changed.Encountersof illegal aliens at the border between ports of entry are about a tenth of what they were in the peak Biden months.
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And unlike the Biden years, almost none are being released into the interior to await years of the immigration process. Instead, as the law requires, they are mostly being detained throughout any applicable immigration process until the U.S.has determined whether theyhave a right to remain. This fact alonehas discouraged many from even attempting to come illegally.
DHSrecently announced the award of $4.5 billion in contracts for 230 miles of various types of barriers along the border with Mexico. This includes 80 miles of the barriers in the middle of the Rio Grande along the Texas border, which may include the effective spinning orange buoys that the state installed in the face of Biden administration opposition as part of Operation Lone Star in 2023.
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TheDHS”smart wall” means not just 30-foot steel bollard walls, but better roads for Border Patrol vehicles to respond to incursions, as well as lights, cameras and sensors.Smart Wallswill be built or enhanced in El Paso and Del Rio in Texas, San Diego and El Centro in California, and in Tucson and Yuma, Arizona – site of the Morelos Gap, where I sawhundreds of illegals cross inone night in 2023.
The Roman Empire knew that walls worked. If well-manned and supported, they could create a stable frontier with limited access according to rules they set. In Trump’s second term, the United States is implementing the same, proven tactics to limit illegal entry to the United States, thus reducing drug smuggling,human trafficking and other crime.
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Simon Hankinson is a senior research fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center and author of “The Ten Woke Commandments (You Must Not Obey)” from Academica Books.