Trump has been repining about his wall for, what, three years now. Why? Because it's politically expedient for him to do so, for among his benighted base, it's galvanizing and because for him it's a matter of ego, looking tough. He said he'd build a beautiful wall; laughable as it was, he referenced his experience in real estate as a basis for his knowing how to build a wall; he said Mexico would pay for his wall; and he led stadium-sized throngs of nitwits (they lacked the sense to know it wasn't doable "from jump") in "build the wall" and "Mexico's going to pay for it" chants.
A good idea, whatever someone's motive is for supporting it, is still a good idea. And it remains a good idea, no matter how incompetent Trump has been in horse trading and leadership. And if Democrats hadn't thought he was serious about it they would have set aside funds (as he requested) for the wall and see what happened.
They know, you know, and all of us know that Trump will build a wall if the money is set aside - something horrifying to business/RINO Republicans and the Democratic vision of America as a welcome mat for as many potential Democrats as possible.
By the way, recall that Trump offered to legalize up to 1.8 million but ONLY in return for a full set aside of the funds - something that Schumer could not live with. He wanted to game it as border fencing had been previously, put the money in a budget but don't necessarily authorize the expenditure.
And yes, illegal immigration is a crisis, and it has been so since 1970. In 1965 illegal immigration amounted to a few 10s of thousands at most. It grew into the hundreds of thousands in the 70s and then more under Reagan and Clinton. By 2000-2007 under Bush it was a mega-crisis peaking at 1.7 million a year appended. After the great recession it plunged, and then dipped again when Trump took office. However, the "Trump effect" is gone and from FY 2017 to FY2018 it jumped 33% at the SW border, 410,000 to 521,000.
Be reminded:
"[T]he undocumented Mexican population in 1980 was in the 1-2 million range, with the total number from all countries falling in the range of 2-4 million... Of the undocumented present and counted in 1980, 941,000 entered during 1975-1980 (about 233,000 a year); 576,000 entered during 1970-1974 (about 133,000 a year); and 540,000 entered before 1970... Finally, the estimates for 1980 show a high proportion of recent arrivals, and very few who entered the United States prior to 1960."
By 1993 (after the benighted Reagan amnesty deal legalized several million illegals) the number of new illegals totaled 3.4 Million. And by
by 2000 there were 8.5 million illegals, then:
In Jan. 2007 - US Department of Homeland Security Estimates 11.8 Million Unauthorized Immigrants in US with 59% from Mexico
"[A]n estimated 11.8 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the United States in January 2007 compared to 8.5 million in 2000. Between 2000 and 2007, the unauthorized population increased 3.3 million; the annual average increase during this period was 470,000.
https://immigration.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000023#1950-1999
Even with the great recession exit of illegals, the number of new illegals kept pace such that the current estimate of illegals is still 11.4 million. And in the last year apprehensions on the south-west border is on the rise again, increasing from 415,000 to 521,000 from FY 2017 to FY 2018.
There is NO indication that this is going to solve itself, even if you don't consider recent evidence that illegal population is far higher than census estimates (perhaps up to 22 million).
It's long overdue; if you want a border that is controlled and fewer illegals you use the lessons of successful security zones: walls, double or triple fences, drones, patrol roads, and active surveillance. You do what is necessary to return America to a border infiltration rate as it was in the early 1960s, not as it exploded into the 70s to the present.
Period.
