Why building a wall on the US-Mexico border is a symbolic monument, not sensible immigration policy

One of Donald Trump’s signature policies is to “build a wall” in order to better secure the border with Mexico. Susannah Crockford has spent nearly two years in Arizona conducting an ethnographic study; many in the area feel that constructing the wall is unnecessary. She writes that the real function of the wall is not to keep people out, but to serve as a symbol to mostly white, ageing conservatives, that President Trump will keep them safe.