Althouse: "Smugglers in Juárez have engineered camouflage hook-and-ladders made of rebar that blend in so well with the border wall that it can be hard to detect, according to U.S. Border Patrol."

February 15, 2020

"Smugglers in Juárez have engineered camouflage hook-and-ladders made of rebar that blend in so well with the border wall that it can be hard to detect, according to U.S. Border Patrol."

"The ladders are the same rust brown color as the mesh panels or steel beams of the fence. El Paso's urban stretch of border is littered with the rusted rebar ladders at the base on both sides — ladders lying in wait on the Mexican side, ladders pulled down by border agents or abandoned by smugglers on the U.S. side.... [T]he rebar ladders started turning up in large numbers in the El Paso sector last year... They've been a go-to method for scaling the fence in the urban footprint since."

Reports El Paso Times.

65 comments:

mockturtle said...: The drug and human smugglers typically drive across, so the wall is still useful. You would think there would be sensors available to place on the wall that would alert BP agents of someone attaching anything. Here in SW AZ, the Border Patrol is very active in patrolling by ground vehicles and helicopters. Mouse trap makers need to keep ahead of the mice and it may require the wall to be electrified.; 2/15/20, 10:13 AM
Michael The Magnificent said...: I'd suggest boiling oil, or molten lead, but a few thousand volts will do.; 2/15/20, 10:14 AM
Big Mike said...: Coils of razor wire on top.; 2/15/20, 10:17 AM
J. Farmer said...: Walls don't work. What's next, crops rotting in the field?; 2/15/20, 10:19 AM
wendybar said...: Moats with alligators and snakes.; 2/15/20, 10:21 AM
Otto said...: Remember this is election year and Ann, the anti-Trumper,is ramping up. So here's the question, Ann are you for illegal immigration? Strap them on and give your answer and stop with the silly covert campaign against Trump.; 2/15/20, 10:21 AM
Lucid-Ideas said...: I told them. I told them. Sharks with laser beams I said. Gorillas throwing dangerous saltwater crocodiles I said. But did they listen? No.; 2/15/20, 10:23 AM
Fernandinande said...: "The [rusty] ladders are the same rust brown color as the mesh panels or steel beams of the fence."

That's is some top-notch engineering.; 2/15/20, 10:25 AM
wendybar said...: Crops don't have to die in the fields if they have the machinery to harvest them... It's coming...https://nationaleconomicseditorial.com/2017/11/20/illegal-immigration-agriculture/; 2/15/20, 10:25 AM
Howard said...: I like the way you pussified flatlander Cucks are channeling Marcellus Wallace:

What now? Let me tell you what now. I'ma call a coupla hard, pipe-hittin' niggers, who'll go to work on the homes here with a pair of pliers and a blow torch. You hear me talkin', hillbilly boy? I ain't through with you by a damn sight. I'ma get medieval on your ass.; 2/15/20, 10:26 AM
WisRich said...: So apprehensions of single males are up and family units is down.

Single illegal immigrants can be returned to Mexico immediately, family units cannot.

I don't know, seems like the multi level system is working.

PS. That fencing looks like standard fencing that was in place long before Trump got in office .; 2/15/20, 10:28 AM
J. Farmer said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/15/20, 10:36 AM
J. Farmer said...: Props to Tarantino for contributing “get medieval on your ass” to the lexicon.; 2/15/20, 10:39 AM
Michael K said...: Mouse trap makers need to keep ahead of the mice and it may require the wall to be electrified.

I'd go with 2400 volts but the NY Times would object.; 2/15/20, 10:59 AM
Birkel said...: Smug argues that the perfect must be the enemy of the good?
That seems a bad choice.; 2/15/20, 11:01 AM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: If Trump and the Repubs were serious about limiting illegal immigration, e-Verify would be front and center of that effort. It isn't and they aren't. It's all theater.; 2/15/20, 11:03 AM
J. Farmer said...: Smug argues that the perfect must be the enemy of the good?
That seems a bad choice.

Someone's suffering an irony deficiency this morning.; 2/15/20, 11:04 AM
Inga said...: Well, who could’ve predicted that?!; 2/15/20, 11:05 AM
mockturtle said...: ARM, here in AZ, most companies, if not all, use-Verify or other systems to assure the eligibility of workers. Why do you assume they do not?; 2/15/20, 11:07 AM
mockturtle said...: Someone's suffering an irony deficiency this morning.
:-) Farmer. I may have to borrow that on occasion.; 2/15/20, 11:08 AM
Inga said...: “Remember this is election year and Ann, the anti-Trumper,is ramping up. So here's the question, Ann are you for illegal immigration? Strap them on and give your answer and stop with the silly covert campaign against Trump.”

Commenter warns Althouse, don’t you dare speak any negativity toward Trump! Pretty soon he’ll be calling her a traitor.; 2/15/20, 11:09 AM
J. Farmer said...: Trump's retreat on E-Verify called special interest 'takeover' of immigration agenda

Voluntary E-VERIFY is good, but it needs to be made mandatory. Vigorous enforcement against companies that hire illegals has to be part of the package.; 2/15/20, 11:10 AM
Michael K said...: If Trump and the Repubs were serious about limiting illegal immigration, e-Verify would be front and center of that effort. It isn't and they aren't. It's all theater.

ARM has a point but Trump and "Republicans" don't necessarily have incentives aligned. The "Chamber of Commerce" Republicans are front and center in the NT ranks, plus there are quite a few who say one thing and do another.

Trump is realigning the Republican Party into a party of blue collar and small business people. The rich and the big corporate types, like Romney, are not allies. They have joined the Democrats and then Administrative State. The Democrats are a top and bottom party now with government employees the only middle class segment. The rest of the middle class are Trump voters.

Suburban women are the swing voters, especially those who are not married.; 2/15/20, 11:18 AM
Drago said...: Admiral Inga: "Commenter warns Althouse, don’t you dare speak any negativity toward Trump! Pretty soon he’ll be calling her a traitor."

I understand some commenters have already called Althouse a "dumb b****".

What are your thoughts on that?

What would General Kelly think about what you called Althouse?; 2/15/20, 11:39 AM
Drago said...: Farmer; "Voluntary E-VERIFY is good, but it needs to be made mandatory. Vigorous enforcement against companies that hire illegals has to be part of the package."

Agreed. Still too many Koch brothers/Chamber of Commerce/NeverTrump republicans however to make it happen anytime soon.

Plus, it can't happen with the dems and their LLR allies controlling the House in any event.; 2/15/20, 11:41 AM
Drago said...: Someone should tell the Israeli's that fences don't work.

Also, tell the other 77 or 78 nations that have built walls that they don't work.

Get on that, stat!; 2/15/20, 11:45 AM
FullMoon said...: Farmer; "Voluntary E-VERIFY is good, but it needs to be made mandatory. Vigorous enforcement against companies that hire illegals has to be part of the package."

As obvious and popular as voter id.; 2/15/20, 11:52 AM
FullMoon said...: I understand some commenters have already called Althouse a "dumb b****".

That person left, three times. Is they back?; 2/15/20, 11:53 AM
Otto said...: @inga
Actually what i want is the opposite. To me Ann tries to be sneaky in that she never comes out against Trump and discusses his policies but she picks on style, references liberal media incessantly and hilariously claims to be a moderate independent. Here is a bold feminist that isn't forthright.; 2/15/20, 11:58 AM
rhhardin said...: An infinite ladder is not a ladder. Wittgenstein.; 2/15/20, 12:10 PM
Andrew said...: I've said it before here, slam 6000 volts though the wall every 15 seconds. It could be supplied by wind turbines and the Hoover Dam.; 2/15/20, 12:10 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Drago:

Agreed. Still too many Koch brothers/Chamber of Commerce/NeverTrump republicans however to make it happen anytime soon.

Plus, it can't happen with the dems and their LLR allies controlling the House in any event.

Agree about the political obstacles, but that's all the more reason for the administration to champion it, not torpedo it. I have little faith that Kushner's 600-page immigration proposal won't be a Koch Brothers/Chamber of Commerce giveaway.; 2/15/20, 12:15 PM
n.n said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/15/20, 12:23 PM
n.n said...: Hang PV panels on the wall, and recruit environmentalists to defend them (Green shields). Erect wind turbine guard towers at regular intervals, then share the generated electricity and maintenance costs.; 2/15/20, 12:26 PM
Curious George said...: "J. Farmer said...
Walls don't work. "

That's why the Berlin Wall was such a non-event.; 2/15/20, 12:50 PM
FullMoon said...: I've said it before here, slam 6000 volts though the wall every 15 seconds. It could be supplied by wind turbines and the Hoover Dam.

Mexicans would tap into it and provide free power for the entire county.; 2/15/20, 12:53 PM
FullMoon said...: Only the strongest, agile,most determined can scale these walls. They make the good construction workers.; 2/15/20, 12:57 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Curious George:

That's why the Berlin Wall was such a non-event.

Irony deficiency appears to be contagious today. I was being facetious. That's why I followed it with "What's next, crops rotting in the field?" These are standard nonsensical tropes deployed against any effort to enforce immigration restriction on the southern border.; 2/15/20, 12:59 PM
Inga said...: “What would General Kelly think about what you called Althouse?”

He’d probably say I should refer to Admiral Drago pretending to know better than a General, a dumb bitch.; 2/15/20, 1:03 PM
JAORE said...: ""The [rusty] ladders are the same rust brown color as the mesh panels or steel beams of the fence."

I have not checked info as to the wall's composition. But there are steels that have a tightly bonded rust structure. They intentionally are left uncoated. They rust on the surface and then the corrosion stops by the top layer of corrosion. Avoids maintenance costs like painting.

Might be very good engineering indeed.

And +1 to e-verify. That includes those that hire maids. Hefty fines for non-compliance.; 2/15/20, 1:07 PM
Michael K said...: Mexicans would tap into it and provide free power for the entire county.

Have you been to a Mexican city ? They already tap into the one guy who has a meter,; 2/15/20, 1:10 PM
Drago said...: Admiral Inga: "He’d probably say I should refer to Admiral Drago pretending to know better than a General, a dumb bitch."

Inga is very very very upset that the sworn testimony of Vindman and Tim Morrison describe something very different than what General Kelly claims.

Inga cannot handle this truth because she needs the truth to be something different.

Inga believes, strongly, that General Kelly has the power to make sworn testimony disappear.

Inga also believes that Carter Page is a russian spy even though it was conclusively demonstrated that he was not.

Inga doesn't like to be reminded that she cursed out Althouse which led to the banning of Inga.

Inga is very odd.; 2/15/20, 1:27 PM
Drago said...: Farmer: " I have little faith that Kushner's 600-page immigration proposal won't be a Koch Brothers/Chamber of Commerce giveaway."

I prefer to wait and see the actual proposal before passing judgement.; 2/15/20, 1:28 PM
Drago said...: Admiral Inga called me a "dumb b****".

Admiral Inga called Althouse a "dumb b****".

I take it as a compliment as I am in very good company.; 2/15/20, 1:42 PM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/15/20, 1:43 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Drago:

I prefer to wait and see the actual proposal before passing judgement.

Sure. But that's why I used words like "faith" and "won't." I'm open to being pleasantly surprised, but the best part about expecting the worst is you're never disappointed.; 2/15/20, 1:57 PM
Hagar said...: I would want to look to make sure, but this smells of a border agent with a sense of humor taking advantage of clueless female reporter.; 2/15/20, 1:59 PM
Inga said...: Admiral Drago seems a little manic again today, hmmm I wonder what upset him?

Admiral Drago seems fixated on certain commenters he can’t get the better of.; 2/15/20, 2:24 PM
Wince said...: How many who extol e-Verify and decry non-participation even know what the “three day rule” is?; 2/15/20, 2:52 PM
Ray - SoCal said...: Az requires all employers to E-Verify.

Florida is in process of passing a compromise that does not include agriculture.

List of states:
https://www.lookoutservices.net/understanding-e-verify-i-9-software/what-states-that-require-use-e-verify/; 2/15/20, 3:12 PM
Ray - SoCal said...: Interesting - requiring 100% E-Verify lowers the unemployment rate in a state, and illegals by 50%.

Link:
https://cis.org/Huennekens/Study-Shows-EVerifys-Effectiveness; 2/15/20, 3:17 PM
Drago said...: Admiral Inga: "Admiral Drago seems fixated on certain commenters he can’t get the better of."

Transcripts of sworn testimony are Inga's biggest nemeses.; 2/15/20, 3:43 PM
Chuck said...: Well at least Mexico is paying for the rebar.; 2/15/20, 5:08 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Drago said...
I prefer to wait and see the actual proposal before passing judgement.

We already know that they dumped compulsory e-Verify so Farmer is largely correct.; 2/15/20, 5:53 PM
Drago said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/15/20, 5:57 PM
Drago said...: ARM: "We already know that they dumped compulsory e-Verify so Farmer is largely correct."

I want to see the complete proposal.

There is no way to get e-verify thru the squishy republicans in a democrat controlled House.

Particularly because there are not an insignificant number of republican House members who agree with our own LLR-lefty Chuck that open borders is the way to go.; 2/15/20, 5:57 PM
tim in vermont said...: A dam doesn’t stop all of the water getting through, still they are pretty effective.

"Admiral Drago seems fixated on certain commenters he can’t get the better of.”

“Get to shut up” is a better description. But that’s a fool’s errand anyway. It’s like that old cartoon:

“Honey, come to bed.”
“I can’t. Somebody’s wrong on the internet."; 2/15/20, 6:21 PM
tim in vermont said...: But the uniparty wants the cheap labor/votes.

I was in Palm Beach County in 2000 and saw air conditioned buses pulling out of the vegetable farms on 441 onto the road. Something I have only ever seen once, on election day that year.; 2/15/20, 6:23 PM
Drago said...: Aunty Trump: "But the uniparty wants the cheap labor/votes."

Too true. Which is why I don't get hung up that Trump cant accomplish everything all in the first term where the entire govt was wired to frame him and remove him from office or, failing that, stymie his plans.; 2/15/20, 7:00 PM
Josephbleau said...: These ladders certainly can’t exist. All the border walls were cut down last year by Mexicans using $100 battery powered saws. There was a news report and everything.; 2/15/20, 7:40 PM
Anonymous said...: Easy fix - electrify the fence.; 2/15/20, 7:42 PM
Ken Mitchell said...: An undefended wall doesn't do much good. Border Patrol needs to electrify the wall or shoot people trying to cross.; 2/15/20, 10:13 PM
Ken Mitchell said...: Aunty Trump said...
"A dam doesn’t stop all of the water getting through, still they are pretty effective."

The Great Wall of China didn't prevent the Mongols from climbing the wall. But they DID prevent the Mongols from bringing their horses. So the Mongol raiders were limited to the amount of damage that they could do.; 2/15/20, 10:16 PM
TrespassersW said...: The fact that some crooks use lock picks, crowbars, etc., to break into houses does not persuade me to remove the locks from my doors.; 2/16/20, 3:07 PM
Caligula said...: Perhaps the camouflage works for human vision, but I'll bet electronics can be made to see the difference.; 2/16/20, 4:06 PM