Whether you are Irish and fleeing famine, German and fleeing religious persecution or African and fleeing annihilation, the USA in many ways is the safe harbor for those hungry, poor, persecuted and in harm’s way. We have fed, clothed, housed and educated those who need, want and desire an opportunity in life. So if this is the circumstance then why do we need a WALL?
There is a two part answer to this single question. It involves fear and prejudicial thinking. The former is a simple reaction to the constant news of violence. Border conflict with illegal organizations doing sensational acts of crime such as kidnapping, murder and rape breed a high anxiety level. This reaction is most likely comparable to the old cowboy imagine of “Circle the Wagons,” we are under attack. True or false the fear of these cartels of illegal organizations coming to the USA fuels the advocacy of the WALL.
The other part to the answer is prejudicial thinking. Americans often tend for convenience to generalize in their thinking. It appears most Americans seek, owing to a complicated world, and their limited time/attention span, simplicity in answers. Lumping all those south of the border including not only Mexico but also Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Columbia as criminals seeking to exploit America justice system, fits that observation. Their assumption is everything from drug trafficking and human trafficking can be stopped at the border with the WALL.
While the answers are clearly stated a viable solution is not. I have passed numerous times to and from the USA/Mexican border as a pedestrian and in a vehicle. It would seem very simple to redirect non-USA citizens to another line to secure non-residence status for a time pending housing, employment and on the spot background checks. Clearly now the border check cameras with facial recognition could discover illegal backgrounds, warrants, etc. This is a legal and organized way not flaunting danger and death by illegal crossings. All other means would be thwarted including but not limited to officers, dogs and drones.
Finally, we should not limit qualified non-residents. However, citizenry just as our history and laws dictate should be based on knowledge of our country, constitution and fluency in our language before citizenship.
