It's better for Donald Trump if Democrats refuse his unbuildable wall

Were the US president allowed to construct a border wall with Mexico in exchange for ending the government shutdown, its staggering cost and logistical difficulty would undermine him, says Lincoln Mitchell.

Border wall prototypes in San Diego near the Mexico US border, seen from Tijuana. Building a wall that would, in large part, span a hot and inhospitable desert would address none of the problems that anti-immigration activists would like to see solved. Picture: AP