Considering the cost and the "efficacy" in such case, it's not worth tax-payers' money.
I'm not sure that a president really has the clout to pressure local law enforcement anymore
Sure he does. One way to do it is through Congressional allocations of federal money. The President has a lot of clout, especially when it comes to homeland security. We are talking national borders here.
Possession of, sales of, and consumption of marijuana is a federal crime, yet in a few states, most notably California, it is done "legally" in broad daylight under state law. How could any majority of any state legislature, with a Governor's signature, pass something in categorical contradiction to federal law?
Local laws can only be stricter than the federal law. It is the unwillingness of the federal authorities to pressure renegade States to comply. I would consider it an act of open rebellion for any State to thumb its nose at federal laws and go from there.
Sometimes confrontation is the only way; the last rest resort. But, let's make it clear that for confrontation there must exist two conditions: (1) the challenger and (2) willingness to confront. Apparently, in our case, there is plenty of challenge, but no willingness to confront. That's precisely how the Roman empire crumbled.
Considering the cost and the "efficacy" in such case, it's not worth tax-payers' money.
Oh, I'm not so sure. If we just considered the cost of every new person per year without a wall in terms of health care, prisons (along with the societal loss because of the crimes committed), and free education how long do you think it would take to pay for a wall? I've heard estimates that it would cost about $9 billion for the whole wall. It would pay for itself very quickly I think.
FK: "I'm not sure that a president really has the clout to pressure local law enforcement anymore."
Sure he does. One way to do it is through Congressional allocations of federal money. The President has a lot of clout, especially when it comes to homeland security. We are talking national borders here.
That's a good point. A motivated pro-border-security President could probably make things happen. I'll give you that one.