How ‘bout this: Towers every two miles along the border with a Marine sniper in each tower with orders to shoot to wound. The wounded are then taken to a hospital, and tattooed with a big “I” (i.e., Illegal) in the middle of their forehead...large enough to be seen from a mile away with a sniper scope. The Rules of Engagement are different for those who try to sneak in with a big “I” tattooed on the forehead. I think it would cost less than $5b and I’m pretty sure it would give pause to those who want to enter the US illegally.
How ‘bout this: Towers every two miles along the border with a Marine sniper in each tower with orders to shoot to wound. The wounded are then taken to a hospital, and tattooed with a big “I” (i.e., Illegal) in the middle of their forehead...large enough to be seen from a mile away with a sniper scope. The Rules of Engagement are different for those who try to sneak in with a big “I” tattooed on the forehead. I think it would cost less than $5b and I’m pretty sure it would give pause to those who want to enter the US illegally.
—
That and land mines.
"How ‘bout this: Towers every two miles along the border with a Marine sniper in each"
There definitely needs to be some infrastructure for the personnel, as well as barrier.
A powerful reality, that planners are aware of though, is the rapid development of robots and artificial intelligence - which will rapidly be displacing the need for a mass of human sentries to monitor the border.
In the areas where double barriers are built, the Enforcement Zone between barriers will be able to be flooded with packs of patrol robots in just the next few years. After that, their cost will just drop and capabilities will increase rapidly.
