A viral video shows people climbing over the US-Mexico border fence with a ladder and sliding down the other side
- A viral video posted to Twitter shows people climbing the US-Mexico border wall and easily sliding down the other side.
- The clip was shot by J. Omar Ornelas, a bi-lingual photojournalist based in Palm Springs, California. It is unclear where or when the video was taken.
- In the video, three people are seen at the border fence. One of the people was able to easily slide down the fence's slats like a fireman's pole before quickly running away as a Border Patrol vehicle pulls up.
- President Donald Trump has been advocating for stronger protections along the US-Mexico border and has long promised to build a wall that could withstand migrant penetration.
- In September, he replaced a decaying portion of the wall in San Diego, California claiming that it was "virutally impossible" to scale.
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A video showing people apparently climbing the US-Mexico border wall and easily sliding down the other side has gone viral on social media.
The video was posted to Twitter by J. Omar Ornelas, a bi-lingual photojournalist based in Palm Springs, California, alongside the caption: "This is the newly replaced wall along the US/MEXICO border. #TheWall"
The clip shows three people at the border wall - one person at the bottom holding a ladder in place, and two people scaling the ladder.
One of the people was able to easily slide down the border fence's slats like a fireman's pole once they were over the fence's ledge. The person then runs away, as what appears to be a Border Patrol vehicle pulls up. The two other people remove the ladder and remain on the Mexico side of the wall.
US Customs and Border Protection was not immediately available for comment.
The clip has since amassed over 2.1 million views and has been retweeted over 15,o00 times.
Ornelas did not include where the video was shot or when the video was taken, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Donald Trump has been advocating for stronger protections along the US-Mexico border and has long promised to build a wall that could withstand migrant penetration.
Trump unveiled several prototypes of a border wall last year and they appeared to withstand attempts at scaling them. The prototypes at the time were made of concrete, steel, and other materials.
No new border wall has been built since he's been in office, though Trump did replace a decaying portion of the border partition with a 14-mile stretch of 18- to 30-foot slatted fence in September. When Trump visited the $147-million border wall replacement project in Otay Mesa, California, he called the design "amazing" and signed his name in Sharpie.
Trump has said that climbing this iteration of the border wall is "virutally impossible."
"I tell you this very strongly: No more people can come in," he said during his visit.
Recently, videos have emerged showing people as young as eight-years-old scaling an 18-foot replica of the wall. One man multiple was even able to climb the replica while juggling different items in one hand.
And in November, The Washington Post reported that smugglers based in Mexico are reportedly using power tools to cut large holes in the newly constructed wall.