The political battle over a border wall between the United States and Mexico has monopolized the news for days now. It has closed the government, and thousands of government employees have been furloughed from their jobs or are either working without pay.
One wonders how long the impasse over the wall would last if congress had to work without a paycheck?
Walls have been built in years past, by both Republicans and Democrats. Other countries have walls. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.
First, it was a mistake on the part of President Trump, when campaigning for the presidency to rally his base with the pledge that Mexico would pay for the wall.
Should people be able to enter the United States as they please, or is it reasonable to have laws governing visitors and immigration? Assuming there are such laws, how should they be enforced? Are walls (or fences, etc.) a useful enforcement tool? When not, what are the alternatives? And how effective and expensive are they?
Illegal immigration is a problem that needs to be addressed before these people ever get to the border between Mexico and the U.S. Why are they running, and what should be done with people who break border laws?
For many years, reform of immigration and border control policies has been hampered by national leaders who seemed less interested in solving problems than gaining political advantages. Today’s fights are a continuation of these failures, and they affect millions of people both inside and outside our nation. It is a disgrace that solutions have proven so elusive for so long.
Do walls work? A look at what happened during the Cold War with Russia when the Berlin Wall separated West Berlin from East Berlin gives some insight into thoughts. They can’t be compared entirely if for no other reason than distance. The Berlin Wall was only 96 miles long while a U.S.-Mexico border wall would extend from California to Texas.
The Berlin Wall was erected 15 years into the Cold War, in 1961. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989 so went the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall had only limited success in keeping East Germans from escaping to the West. An estimated 100 people died trying to get over or under the wall, but about 5,000 were successful in going over or under the wall.
It’s a different situation with the proposed U.S.-Mexico border. The migrants are fleeing Central American countries because they are seeking an improved way of life — jobs, security, and all the freedoms Americans have, in short, opportunities for a better life.
With the worker shortage America has, in many fields in which Americans don’t want that kind of work, migrants would help the dismal employment situation.
It’s expensive now with the U.S. Mexico border security we have, and security still would be needed with a wall — not as much as we have now — but it still will be needed.
Too many migrants entering the country pose a problem. Controls are needed. Both sides need to sit down at the table and not leave until they have hashed this matter out, and come up with a solution.
We must take the politics out of the matter. This is not a Democrat issue or a Republican issue. It is an American issue, and it must be dealt with in that way.
Whether or not a wall is the answer, we don’t know. But, this much, we do know. Government workers should not be held hostage by self-serving politicians.