Trump's 'steel slat' border wall can be cut with a saw
President Trump is slowly running out of border wall options.
Last month, Trump ditched his "beautiful" concrete wall in favor of some "artistically designed steel slats." And now it seems that idea may have to go, as a Department of Homeland Security test revealed the slats can be cut through with a saw, NBC News reports.
In late 2017, DHS tasked Marines with testing eight border wall prototypes, per a Customs and Border Protection report obtained by NBC News. All eight of the prototypes "were vulnerable to breaching," the report concluded. That includes the slats, which a photo shows could be sawed through to make an opening that's definitely big enough to crawl through.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump didn't tour the tested walls, but rather a set of eight prototypes that were bigger than what was a tested, San Diego Sector Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott told NBC News. The prototypes "were not and cannot be designed to be indestructible," a CBP spokesperson added. That may come as a surprise to Trump, who has long promised to build an "impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful" wall.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Ashes to ashes, ducks to ducks: the end of Bazball?Talking Point Swashbuckling philosophy of England men’s cricket team ‘that once carried all along with it has become divisive and polarising’
-
The strangely resilient phenomenon of stowaways on planesIn The Spotlight Lapses in security are still allowing passengers to board flights without tickets or passports
-
Four Seasons Seoul: a fascinating blend of old and new in South KoreaThe Week Recommends Located right in the heart of the action, this classy hotel is the perfect base to explore the capital
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
-
Kushner drops Trump hotel project in SerbiaSpeed Read Affinity Partners pulled out of a deal to finance a Trump-branded development in Belgrade
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
