Mexico–United States border wall
The Mexico–United States border wall is a series of vertical barriers along the Mexico–United States border intended to reduce illegal immigration to the United States from Mexico. The barrier is not a continuous structure but a series of obstructions variously classified as "fences" or "walls".
Border fence near El Paso, Texas
Border fence between San Diego's border patrol offices in California, US (left) and Tijuana, Mexico (right)
Two men scale the border fence into Mexico near Douglas, Arizona, in 2009
The United States Border Patrol in the Algodones Dunes, California
A border barrier, border fence or border wall is a separation barrier that runs along or near an international border. Such barriers are typically constructed for border control purposes such as curbing illegal immigration, human trafficking, and smuggling. Some such barriers are constructed for defence or security reasons. In cases of a disputed or unclear border, erecting a barrier can serve as a de facto unilateral consolidation of a territorial claim that can supersede formal delimitation. A border barrier does not usually indicate the location of the actual border, and is usually constructed unilaterally by a country, without the agreement or cooperation of the other country.
Mexico–United States barrier in California
Israeli West Bank barrier
Berlin Wall, 1988.