Trump’s Wall Is Unethical and Ineffective Against Undocumented Immigrants

Donald Trump said the following in his presidential announcement speech on June 16, 2015, “I will build a great wall… I’ll build them very inexpensively… I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.” It’s been over 4 years, and Trump has yet to fulfill his many other countless promises to the U.S citizens concerning the U.S-Mexico wall. Many undocumented immigrants are already in the country, it is unlikely to stop drugs coming into the U.S, and the truth is that terrorists aren’t incompetent, and run the risks of crossing illegal ports of entry! Additional downfalls of the Trump wall include it being costly, historically have had a bad reputation, and it could even take another five to ten years to complete the project! Trump believes that a wall that spans the U.S-Mexico border will stop illegal immigrants, but this is far from the truth; a wall will be ineffective against the notoriously determined illegal immigrants entering the U.S.

In the past, Trump has said the following, “Every week 300 of our citizens are killed by heroin alone, 90% of which floods across from our southern border…” This statement has been verified so far to be accurate. A key part that was failed to be mentioned in his speech was the following, 90% of the heroin entering the U.S, is smuggled through legal ports of entry. It is unknown if Trump left this important fact out of his speech to get approved funding from Congress, but the bottomline is that building a wall won’t solve the problem of drugs coming into the U.S. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), only a small portion of drugs are seized where barriers exist, or are planning to get build. Along with his misinformative comments on drug smuggling, he also claims that the wall will decrease drug poisoning in U.S youth. The Center of Disease Control (CDC), performed a detailed study on deaths involving drug overdoses in the country. During the years of 2007, and 2014, there were on average 22,681 deaths related to prescription drug overdoses; compared to the average 8,543 deaths linked to heroin overdose. Considering these facts, if Trump wants to see a decrease in death overdoses in youth, he should be focussed on prescription drug deaths, not on the small percentage of heroin entering the U.S by the land boundaries.

9/11 is seen as being the most horrific attack in U.S history, based on the number of casualties. Almost three years after the attack, a report from the Commission revealed the following about the attack: Involved nineteen men, fifteen coming from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt, and finally one located Lebanon. Since 9/11, only 20% of individuals charged with, or that have died in terrorist activity have been undocumented immigrants. Therefore, 80% of individuals were U.S citizens, or permanent residents that were already residing in the country! The DHS claims that most immigrants entered the country legally, but once their visas expire, they decide to stay in the country, and overstay their visas. Consequently, a high percentage of undocumented immigrants are already in the country, so building a wall on the U.S-Mexico border won’t solve the problem. If undocumented immigrants are the problem, the funds that were allocated to the wall should be put towards finding the undocumented immigrants hiding in the shadows of the U.S.

Terrorist organizations work as businesses, based on efficiency, and delivering their product the most effective process possible! Traffickers have studied how border security functions, from specific officers, to blind spots, and where the most effective places to store illegal products are located. When border security changes, traffickers are required to adapt to these changes, and so far have been able to do this quite successfully. Drug corporations won’t risk sending their people, and or product through areas where there is a higher risk of being apprehended. These high risk areas normally include illegal ports of entry, such as rivers, and forests along the U.S-Mexico land boundary! El Chapo was one of the biggest drug lords the world has ever seen; at his trial former cartel members who testified spoke on how most drugs smuggled into the U.S, are smuggled on fishing boats, trains, and vehicles travelling through the legal ports of entry. Cartel continue to send their product and people through legal ports of entry, as this is a more effective method of transporting precious goods. Historically, walls have been built, but later torn down, and have had a very mixed record in how efficient they actually were. Take for example, the Maginot Line, which was built by the French to help defend the country against Germany. Countless resources and manpower were poured into the 9 year project, that was actually quite useless in preventing Germany’s attack. Other famous examples include the Berlin Wall, and the Great Wall of China, which both had the same problems as the Maginot Line! If the wall is completed, immigrants will always find a way to get into the country. The past has shown that creating a barrier between countries has proven to be useless, so why are we making the same mistakes as our predecessors?

Once Trump was elected he promised the U.S people that he would make Mexico pay for the wall; as of yet, Trump has not convinced Mexico to pour in countless funds to finance the expensive project. Trump estimated that the wall would cost 12 billion dollars to complete, he then later raised his estimate, and then finally settled to 15 billion to complete the project! Unfortunately, numerous other sources have disagreed with the President’s estimate. DHS believes that the wall will cost up to 25 billion, Washington Post estimates 25 billion as well, and senate democrats are convinced it will cost upwards of 70 billion dollars to complete. There are many other sources that range in estimates, but many believe that it will cost significantly more than what Trump has estimated. On February 15, 2019, the President signed a declaration of national emergency in hopes of receiving the necessary funding for completion. This issue quickly became a political matter as seventeen states sued the federal government on the grounds of separation of power. Trump has shut down the government, and even diverting funds from military projects to accomplish his goal. The wall is expensive, and the U.S is going to pay dearly, if federal funds continue to get managed improperly! Trump has tried to link immigrants, with disease outbreaks in the country, stating that immigrants are entering the country sick, and are using the U.S medical system. Yet, there has been no evidence presented that suggests that immigrants have caused any major disease outbreaks. Trump is trying to get American voters to believe that sick immigrants are flooding the country through the open boundaries on the southern border, but it has already been statistically proven that most immigrants enter the country legally, but overstay their visas. Many of the claims that trump has made, have been inaccurate, and or missing key research to back up his promises to American people.

In conclusion, a wall that separates the U.S and Mexico will prove to be ineffective and unethical. Undocumented immigrants are already in the country, it is unlikely to affect drugs entering the country, and traffickers will always find a way to outsmart the system. In world history, past leaders have also made the similar mistake of constructing such an expensive project! When shown the facts, it is clear that the wall will be ineffective in stopping immigrants from entering the U.S. It fails to address the issues that Trump has claimed he will fix, from drug overdoses, to immigration, and national security. If the President and his administration really want to, “Make America Great Again”, they should pursue a more effective and practical solution.