How Tall Should the New Border Wall Be?

SAN DIEGO - While new border wall plans near Friendship Park are on hold for now, the debate over the height of the new wall is ongoing.

The plans from the Department of Homeland Security currently call for a 30-foot tall, bollard style wall near the coastline, replacing an older, decaying border wall that's 18 feet high. Dr. Jay Doucet from the UC San Diego Trauma Center tells NBC 7 the taller border wall has led to an increase in injuries among migrants who make their way over it.

"It seemed when the wall went to 30 feet, the number of injuries and severity of the injuries increased quite significantly," said Dr. Doucet.

US-IMMIGRATION-ILLEGAL-IMMIGRANTS-VIRUS-HEALTH-PANDEMIC — Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee stands beside the US-Mexico border wall in San Diego, California on May 17, 2022. - Horrific fractures, punctured lungs and a traumatic miscarriage: Dr. Jay Doucet has seen the severity of his patients' injuries worsen as more migrants fall from a growing border wall in their bid to evade a pandemic-imposed legal blockade. To the already imposing obstacles for people trying to enter the United States on its southern border, the Covid crisis added another: a quick-fix health rule called Title 42 that allows authorities to remove anyone simply because they might be carrying the disease. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images

Studies show the higher border walls lead to six times the number of injuries in San Diego and Imperial Counties and Dr. Doucet says there have been 14 deaths attributed to border wall injuries between 2019 and 2021. The 30-foot height is the standard set across other new sections of border wall.

"There is a psychological reason," said Customs and Border Protection Chief Deputy Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk. "It’s a high fence. You don’t want to cross it, but it’s also tall enough our agents can see through and see what’s coming at you."

Agent McGurk says the taller wall has prevented migrants from throwing rocks over the wall. which has lead to fewer agent injuries and fewer incidents of groups of migrants rushing and climbing the border wall.

As of right now though, it's unclear when a decision on the height of the new border wall near Friendship Park will be reached.

KOGO News

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