Of course walls work. Just look at history. The NYT is a desperate concern troll and this article reads like a poorly written editorial, as usual.
Not having a wall vs. having a wall - hmmm I wonder which will work better to keep the heroin and drug cartels, etc. out of our country ... (DUH)
forgot to add - just look at history - the Berlin wall was rather effective - just ask the Germans.
They currently do a good job just dropping contraband out of Cessnas. Just plastic wrap and some bubble wrap. No parachute needed.