Concrete divisions: The US-Mexico border

A debate over extending the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border has been a noisy centerpiece of this year's presidential election. A journey from San Diego to Brownsville, Tex., offers an up-close view into what it would take to complete a barrier along the Rio Grande - and at the lives of those already divided. Donald Trump has made no secret of his plan to build a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border — and persuade Mexico to pay for it. The Republican nominee has been remarkably vocal about the proposal, one that 6 in 10 voters disagree with. The wall, he argues, is needed to curb illegal immigration, reduce gang violence near the border and stop drugs from reaching the United States. For now, fences cover just 700 miles of the nearly 2,000-mile-long border. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, opposes completing the wall — but as a senator, she voted for the 2006 bill that led to construction of most of the existing fence. The idea of "completing the wall" has been part of political rhetoric since construction of the fence began. But now, a decade after the majority of the fence was built, opinions are divided on whether a barrier spanning the entire border is necessary — or even feasible...more