The U.S.-Mexico border fence that can be scaled in 18 seconds

The filmmaker behind the viral video claims that it costs U.S. taxpayers roughly $4 million to build each mile of border fence.

(Image credit: YouTube)

last updated 8 January 2015

The video: Filmmaker Roy Germano challenged two young women to scale a section of the wall the U.S. has erected along parts of the Mexico border, and they did — in less than 18 seconds, on their first try. (View clip below.) This segment from Germano's documentary, The Other Side of Immigration, has gone viral, proving, if nothing else, that this section of the wall is an ineffective barrier.

The reaction: "On average, each mile of border fence costs U.S. taxpayers about $4 million to build and will cost another $6.5 billion over the next 20 years to repair and maintain," says Germano. If we're serious about stopping immigration, it would be a "more effective use of our tax dollars" to reduce poverty in Mexico. Or we could "build a proper fence," like the double-layer, high-tech one proposed in the 2006 Secure Fence Act, says U.S. Border Watch's Bob Price in Texas GOP Vote. That fence works. But it would still be "responding to a 21st century challenge with a 14th century wall," says Frank Sharry of America's Voice, in The Huffington Post. This clip is just one "stark example" of the "futility of the GOP's border-only approach to immigration." Watch for yourself: