Government Asks For Bids For Wall That Most Don't Want

Several recent polls have shown that the American people don't want a wall built between the United States and Mexico, especially since taxpayers will have to pay for that wall (estimated to cost upwards of $20 billion). The most recent polls are from Public Policy Polling and YouGov Polling.

The Public Policy Polling survey was done between March 10th and 12th of a random national sample of 808 registered voters, and has a margin of error of 3.4 points.

The Economist / YouGov Poll was done on March 13th and 14th of a random national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,320 registered voters), and has a margin of error of 3.3 points.

But the Trump administration doesn't care what the public wants. Trump promised his right-wing supporters a wall, and he's determined to build it regardless of what the American public thinks. At the behest of the Trump administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has asked for bids to design and build the wall -- in spite of the fact that, so far, no money has been passed in Congress to pay for the wall.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

“The documents say the government will consider proposals for two separate designs for the barrier: a solid concrete wall, and a wall made of alternative material. Both requests call for the wall along the southwestern border—from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas—to be a minimum of 18 feet high. The requests add that the government’s ‘nominal concept is for a 30-foot high wall.'”

“The requests say the structure should include anti-climbing fixtures to make it impossible to scale, and be sturdy enough to at least temporarily withstand a variety of tools—such as chisels, battery-powered devices and torches—that could be used to breach it.”