Do you believe Donald Trump could really do this?

He would first have to get elected as President.

Building the wall isn’t that much of a problem. It’s the part where he brags about “making Mexico pay for it” that I’d like to see him try. Ha ha.

So in short, no. It won’t happen but he knows it makes for lots of free publicity.

No. He is just blathering.

At a minimum, he (or the USGov) would have to purchase 30–50 feet of land (the US may already have this) – then there’s pulling permits and whatever else is required, and compensation to landowners, and building access roads for materials delivery.

And every half mile, doors or gates or something for emergencies.

Can it be done, likely, but at a hell of a cost.

@button is correct – the Mexicans aren’t going to pay. That’s ridiculously naive.

But it won’t be effective anyway.

A tall wall in the middle of a hot, desolate dessert? I can’t imagine how it would be built and then, in order to be effective, the whole thing would still need to be patrolled.

He’s talking shit.

This is all a scarecrow tactic.

Net immigration from Mexico over the last five years has been zero. But he needs something to redirect people’s attention away from himself.

Build a wall all along the Rio Grande from El Paso to Brownsville? Not going to happen.

No. He’s just trump(et)ing BS.

Not only did he say that he would build the wall. He said that Mexico will pay for it !!!!!!

Even if he could, the Southwestern states that live on all that cheap labor would poke a hole in it.

How Trump said he’d get Mexico to pay for it is to institute a tariff for all goods coming into the US. But Chris Christy said he’d first have to get Congress to approve it.

@josie they could poke a hole in it because it’ll be made of cardboard?

Merely building a wall along the US – Mexican border is not going to solve the illegal immigration problem, a fact he seems to be unaware of. Say he could pull off such a project. There are still three ways illegal immigrants could enter the country:
1) by air, through the use of small, private aircraft;
2) by sea, landing always at remote, unpatrolled beaches; or
3) by digging tunnels under the wall.

It really sounds to me like he is promoting the idea in order to sound like he has a plan, when, in reality, he hasn’t a clue.

@Aster Yup. What better way to hold construction costs down?

@sahID Yep, and there’s also:
4) by balloon.

A wall like that would be totally useless unless patrolled.

@2davidc8 Silly me; I thought it would be patrolled. If I wanted to cross the border from Mexico I sure wouldn’t hop on a plane. There have been instances in history where planes have been shot down. And a hot air balloon would face the same risk. I honestly didn’t know that illegals could afford plane fares.

I have no doubt in my mind that Donald Trump could build this wall he harps about. Offering up such a ludicrous idea under the umbrella of his Presidential campaign is exactly why he won’t ever get that chance.

I say if he wants the wall so bad he can pay for it himself. That’s the only way that It will get built.

Gee if he could swing the that how about a fence along the Canadian border to keep the people in the country on our border from sneaking over taking our jobs and using up our universal health care.

Build the fucking wall and deport them all. Then enjoy your 15 dollar salad.

@johnpowell Salads can already cost $15 here in the Bay Area. Maybe you mean $30 salads.

No. Political Blather. He has obviously never been to the Rio Grande region of Texas.

I would like to offer this question to Mr. Trump: Who’s gonna build your wall? by Tom Russell

Ha, yes! @rojo Robin WIlliams said just about the same thing, “Who do you think is going to fucking build it?”

If Trump can direct (or his coworkers direct) dozens of men to build skyscrapers of 25 stories then why couldn’t he direct Latinos in building a wall?

I’‘m sure that the contractors could do the work – the question is more of the political / legal / foreign policy ramifications