Another Brick in the Wall
It began as his signature campaign promise- building a wall and creating a stronger border between the United States and Mexico. President Donald Trump is already taking his first steps towards fulfilling this promise, but as with any presidential initiative, the inevitable question is raised: what obstacles does the President face on the long road to making his promise a reality?
President Trump began the first full week of his presidency by signing multiple executive orders regarding immigration and the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall. One order strengthens border patrol forces, while the other increases the number of officers who are authorized to enforce immigration laws and deport undocumented immigrants. The orders also entail cutting off federal funding to sanctuary cities if they are not compliant with immigration enforcement laws. “Beginning today, the United States of America gets back control of its borders,” President Trump explained during a January 25th visit to the Department of Homeland Security. “We are going to save lives on both sides of the border.”
According to CNN Money, there are already about 650 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, predominantly in populated areas, which leaves about 1,300 miles of open border. Existing fencing is roughly 18 feet tall, at an average cost of of $3.9 million per mile. Walls, of course, are much costlier and more time-consuming to construct than fences. In President Trump’s “60 Minutes” interview shortly after his election victory, he mentioned that he would accept a fence instead of a wall “for certain areas”, while adding a wall is “more appropriate” for other areas. This openness to building a fence signals a significant departure from Trump’s campaign rhetoric, which had before been unmoving in calling for a wall. Trump initially estimated that the project would cost around $8 billion, then later said it could be “maybe $10 billion or $12 billion.” A comprehensive report conducted by Bernstein Research concluded the total cost would be at least $15 billion, and potentially as high as $25 billion.
Let’s say, hypothetically, that the project would cost $15 billion. A hefty price tag like that can easily cover the cost of numerous social services that would have a far greater net benefit for all Americans than a costly, inefficient wall. President Trump discussed infrastructure during his campaign, and claimed that his vision is to “transform America’s crumbling infrastructure into a golden opportunity”. Fortunately for President Trump, this funding provides a valuable opportunity to do just that. Using the $15 billion fund, the government could build 7,500 miles of rural two lane roads. Alternatively, the budget could fund over 1,300 miles worth of six-lane highways while still leaving money to spare. With regards to education, $15 billion could fund the four-year tuition of 388,600 undergraduate students four years at an in-state university. It could also fund the entire budget of the EPA for two years. It is clear to any reasonable American that these are all much better uses of $15 billion than building a wall.
Of course, regardless of whether the funding is used for social investment or constructing a wall, the question remains of who will pay. President Trump has promised multiple times that Mexico will fund the construction of a border wall, but the wording has changed over time. It should be noted that the current president of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, and former president Vicente Fox, have repeatedly stated that Mexico will not pay for the wall (albeit with varying degrees of profanity). In an exclusive interview conducted by ABC this past week, “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir questioned him about this:
“DAVID MUIR: Mr. President, I want to start — we’re five days in. And your campaign promises. I know today you plan on signing the order to build the wall.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Correct.
DAVID MUIR: Are you going to direct U.S. funds to pay for this wall? Will American taxpayers pay for the wall?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Ultimately, it’ll come out of what’s happening with Mexico. We’re gonna be starting those negotiations relatively soon. And we will be in a form reimbursed by Mexico which I will say…
DAVID MUIR: So, they’ll pay us back?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yeah, absolutely, 100 percent.”
The following day, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that the President will request to impose a 20% tariff on Mexican imports, just hours after Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced that he was canceling his trip to meet with President Trump, which could potentially make their rocky relationship even worse. It is being reported that the POTUS had discussed the proposal with lawmakers, and that they are considering including it in upcoming tax reform legislation.
While Sean Spicer claims that “we can do $10 billion a year and easily pay for the wall just through that mechanism alone”, such a tax on goods from Mexico would lead to higher prices for items for consumers in the U.S. Back at the White House, Spicer then mentioned that the tax is just one of the options under consideration. This, as well as the previous “reimbursement” comments, implies that taxpayers will end up being affected one way or another.
Building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico will not solve crimes committed by immigrants, nor will it solve illegal immigration. Through August of 2016, there were more arrests made of Central Americans than Mexicans. Central Americans, mostly women and children, are fleeing to the U.S. by the thousands in order to escape violence and poverty, and the immigration system in place isn’t capable of handling the influx, which is cited to be the real immigration issue- not Mexicans crossing the border. Building a wall is not going to solve anything. What we need is the opening up of a pathway to citizenship so that people don’t have to resort to illegal methods to enter the United States in the first place.
The United States of America is and will always be a nation of immigrants. It is time for the government to realize that and move towards making it easier, not harder, to accept the diversity in people and cultures that has made America great.
