Property Disputes
What effect will the wall have on private property along the border?
President Trump should not build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border because of the amount of land it will require to be seized from private property owners. The reality is that only a third of the land along the border is owned by the federal government, and most of this land already has some form of barrier (Dickinson). For the bulk of the wall to be built numerous land owners will have to be convinced to sell their properties, either voluntarily or forcibly. In order to forcibly seize private property, the government will be held to immensely time-consuming procedures that consist of first holding discussions with the affected parties and then declaring condemnation proceedings (Dickinson). If Trump chooses to pursue this route, without even considering the amount of property owners who will be adversely effected, this guarantees his wall will not be completed anytime soon. Furthermore, all of the landowners whose properties are taken will be entitled to adequate compensation. The determination of such compensation for hundreds of property owners all with different investments in their properties, according to Gerald Dickinson, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Law, will be “the ‘deal’ of the century” (Dickinson). The pros of a border wall are simply not worth all its cons.
What effect will the wall have on the Indian Reservation along the border?
In addition to having to seize a large amount of private property, Trump should not build a wall along the U.S. Mexico border because of the disruptive effect it will have on the Tohono O’odham Indian reservation and the prolonged legal battle that could ensue. The Tohono O’odham Indians are a federally recognized tribe and their reservation spans 75 miles along the U.S.-Mexico border, constituting properties in both countries (Levin). Any border wall will consequently cut right through their land. Along the reservation, a steel barrier already exists, but as detailed by Bradley Moreno, a Tohono O’odham Indian, in an article posted by The Guardian, “If a wall is built, the results would be disastrous” (Levin). If Donald Trump is successful in building a wall he will be disrupting such things as ceremonial sites and migratory patterns that are hallmarks of the tribe’s culture. Furthermore, even if the disruption of an entire Indian tribe’s way of life is not enough to convince one not to support the wall's construction, there still exists the prolonged legal battle the Indian tribe will surely pursue to preserve its way of life. Being that the tribe’s land is an Indian reservation nothing short of a bill from congress will suffice to allow President Trump to seize its land (Somin). The benefits of a border wall simply dwindle as its cost, both monetary and morally, are truly weighed.
