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Trump's Wall is a Horrible Idea, and Here is Why

By: Tiffany Santiago     Feb. 18, 2018

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A promise that Donald Trump made during his presidential campaign was to build a wall on the United States and Mexico border. Of course, many people believed that he would fulfill his promise, and that Mexico would pay for the wall. Although a large number of Americans want to believe that the wall would benefit them, it won’t.

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The cost of the wall would be

between $15-2o billion, but that's

not all. The cost won’t just stop

at the structure. Taxpayers would

also have to pay for maintenance

and staff.  To actually get the

wall throughout the entire border

would be nearly impossible, since

it would have to go through

mountains, villages, rivers and

even some homes.

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How will a wall on the ground stop illegal immigration?  Here’s an answer: it won’t. Most immigration comes from people who cross the border on planes. Many immigrants come to the United States legally, they are just simply overstaying their visas.  Adding another obstacle for immigrants coming into the United States won’t stop them from coming in, but it would stop them from going back. Circular flow is what’s used to describe the immigrants coming in and out of the U.S. Adding the wall would stop the flow and keep immigrants in. Typically, immigrants come to the U.S. to work, send money back to their families in Mexico, and then they return home. The wall would also be very unneeded today, since immigration is at an all-time low.

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I know that many people view any type of immigration as bad, but they most likely do not understand the sacrifices and courage it takes to make that decision. The United States views itself as a superior nation, and many others think the same way. So why wouldn’t people make the decision to flee their own country to come to this great country? Everyone says that the U.S is the ‘home of the free and land of the brave’, but when someone is brave, they are just seen as criminals. Yes, there are many immigrant criminals, but that shouldn’t group all immigrants as criminals. If there is a group of racist white people, does that make all white people racist? Of course not, so why would that logic apply to anyone who is not white?

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The wall is just another tactic to try battling the illegal immigration in the United States, but what more can be done? The United States and Mexico already have the highest secured border between peaceful nations in the entire world. Why strain the relationship even more when a large population of immigrants does not negatively affect us?

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Instead of trying to make a dumb wall, why not try helping those on the path to citizenship? Right now, to become a citizen takes up to 10 years and the initial cost is around 1,000 dollars. That does not include the cost of a lawyer or travel costs to an immigration court, (currently in the U.S., there are only 52 immigration courts). The process is very long, expensive and many immigrants cannot afford to lose the large amounts of work and money going into the process.

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Many parents come to the United States in hope of providing a better life for their family. It is usually the last hope for them, as no one wants to flee their own country to live in fear for the rest of their life, unless it is absolutely necessary. Many come to the U.S. in hopes of a better education for their children or future children. They hope that their children can provide for their own future families without having to struggle like they did. For the people who say that ‘hard working’ Americans deserve their rights, I bet they haven't seen how hard-working immigrants actually are. The amount of sacrifice and bravery immigrants have is unimaginable, and to the average American, they may never understand why immigrants do the things that they do.

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Trump shouldn't waste the United States resources on an unnecessary wall. He should instead invest those funds into helping immigrants. This country was built on immigrants, and taking advantage of the system, just because someone isn't white, doesn't mean that they don't deserve those same rights.