Written by: Jason Royse for KMA Economics Quarter 2

With President Trump taking office earlier this year in January, he has had many radical ideas on various economical issues such as tax reform, healthcare, and foreign policy to "Make America Great Again." However, Trump's proposal to build a wall along the Southern border of the United States is the most absurd agenda he has on his list. Too start off, most people think building a wall along the border would be an effective way at keeping illegal immigrants from entering the country because it poses a huge, concrete obstacle that seems almost impervious to get through. However, many Trump supporters (and other Americans alike), have given little consideration too the many methods immigrants use to get past our border even today. Building a large, 30-foot concrete wall will do little in keeping illegal immigrants because many are so desperate to get into the U.S. that they will use aircraft, 31-foot ladders for a 30-foot wall, or even sail around it. However, the most practical way of getting into our country is too dig tunnels, which is happening right as we speak. According to the Huffington Post, "a 481-foot tunnel under the current 'wall', used to smuggle drugs" was found not too long ago. Another instance was the 2,400-foot long tunnel found by U.S. officials that begins from an area near Tijuana International Airport and ran into a warehouse in San Diego. Some would say to use motion technology and other instruments too detect tunnels and activity along the border too prevent these matters, but no technology is able-equipped to deal with such a large scale operation. No matter what way Mexicans intending to come here use, they will find a way.

Furthermore, the wall and its utter ineffectiveness in preventing illegal immigration into the United States brings me to my next point about the billions and billions of dollars used in constructing this wall. Many Americans are already concerned with the tax rates that they pay and, most importantly, where those tax dollars go. If this wall is built, a very large sum of money that could be used to improve infrastructure, promote economic growth, and go towards healthcare will be lashed to be used towards its construction. The concrete wall would have to be be over 3,000 kilometers long, the length of the United States - Mexican border, and would be equipped with guard towers, surveillance systems, and barb wire which would oblige U.S. taxpayers some $15-$25 billion dollars to $38 billion dollars up front, not forgetting the billions and billions of dollars spent on further maintenance. The United States will be building a wall for massive amounts of money that will not even be effective at doing its job besides slightly reducing the flow of labor into the U.S. which would choke off the fuel for the Mexican labor to the U.S. economic engine, making American firms less productive and cutting both jobs and wages for U.S. workers which was concluded by a study by the USNews. The wall will not only have a drastic affect on government spending, but also have a direct affect on the U.S. economy.

Last, but not least, the wall would be almost impossible to build because of the harsh environments it will pass through, the environmental impact it will have on the land, the time it will take too build as well as cutting through private sectors of land. The roughly 1,954 miles of land the wall would cover slices through a variety of environments including mountains, rivers, valleys, and even over Native-American burial grounds. Not only does this pose problems for the inhabitants in those areas such as private land owners who refuse to have a wall built on their land or tribesman and women whose ancestors have roamed those areas for thousands of years. Not only that, but the wall would take an incredibly long time too build. For example, the fence that already runs along a portion of the border took over six years too construct, so engineers predict that it would take over 10 years to build with workers working around the clock, day and night. Once the wall would be finished, it would be an "environmental catastrophe" for the ecosystems and animals that inhabit and migrate through these areas says Jeff Corwin, a renowned wildlife expert. The wall would completely obliterate the natural bridge between North and South America, eliminating a vital passage way for many species of organisms that have used it for millions of years. In conclusion, with my points presented, I hope one can see how the wall would be an utterly useless and reckless decision to follow through with, and understand the many untold consequences for the U.S. if Donald Trump passes this legislation.

Sources:

https://immigration.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000778

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2017-02-02/why-walling-the-us-off-from-mexico-wont- work

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/donald-trumps-tunnels--an b11831094.html