A Border Wall Isn’t a Magic Bullet for Immigration

It seems everywhere in the GOP, candidates are talking about walls. Donald Trump invented the totally new idea of building a wall on the Mexican/American border which nobody had ever considered before him, Ted Cruz also wants to build a wall on the Mexican/American border and oddly held this position before Trump invented it in a strange political coup I can only assume involved time travel and Kasich has apparently beaten his head against a wall repeatedly since he somehow still thinks the American people care about his candidacy. 

Let’s talk about this wall real quick. With some, the question “Why do you support Trump?” is so quickly answered by, “Trump will build the wall,” that it seems as if it might have been adopted as a holy catechism for the Trump disciples. The illegal entires, the drug smuggling, the human trafficking, and the terrorist concerns will all cease the moment the Blessed Donald picks up America’s burdens by laying down the Almighty Wall. 

Can we just take a second to acknowledge the simple fact that building a wall will only solve the immigration crisis if Mexico is completely devoid of ladders?

I didn’t make this video and don’t vouch for the authenticity of it’s figures or claims, but it’s sufficient to point out the limitations of the magic bullet theory of a border wall.

I’m not trashing the wall. I want the wall, but I understand that the wall is only one small part of the solution to immigration reform whereas it seems many haven’t thought about this for more than ten seconds. Many seem to be on a, “Wall good. Illegals bad. Trump build wall,” line of thinking. It’s kind of caveman thought, and I’d just like us to move the conversation up to something post-Enlightenment. 

A wall alone will not be a significant deterrent especially for criminals and terrorists; it can only be effective when paired with other resources. We need night vision capable video surveillance constantly watching every square inch the border so that insertions can be observed and reported, we need a large set of border control agents spread out every few miles so that every illegal entry can be stopped, we need an access road running the length of the nearly two thousand mile border which will allow rapid response to insertion points, we need constant maintenance on the wall, roads and the cameras which will no doubt take malicious damage, we need more detention centers and associated staff for the much greater number of illegal immigrants that will be detained, and to deal with those detainees, we will need a coherent immigration policy that actually deports illegals back to their home country rather than the current catch and release system.

If you’ve been considering this as I’ve rattled off just a few of the things required for an effective border wall, then likely dollar signs have been rolling in your eye sockets because this will take a lot of money, and it’s not just money for the initial wall but a constant financial commitment, yet if we commit, we should then see a significant decrease in illegal immigration.

However even after all this, I suspect we will still have an immigration crisis, and that’s because where there is a will, there will always be a way. Perhaps our time would be better spent eliminating the incentives that bring illegal immigrants to the United States rather than scrambling to stick our fingers in all the holes in this proverbial dike, but that’s a discussion for another day.