One year into Donald Trump’s presidency, his promise to build a wall along the United States-Mexico border is a step closer to reality. The eight slabs of concrete and steel shown here are prototypes (or models) for the new wall. They were recently erected near the border in San Diego, California.
During his presidential campaign, Trump vowed to build a solid wall extending the full 1,900-mile length of the border from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico (see map, below). The president says the wall will help stop people from entering the U.S. illegally.
But critics say a wall won’t curb illegal immigration. They point out that most of the estimated 11 million people who are in the U.S. illegally were visitors who didn’t leave when they were supposed to. What’s more, the project would require $22 billion in federal funding—and many lawmakers in Congress insist they’ll block attempts to finance it.