The Reasons Why USA Need to Build a Border Wall

The problem of illegal immigration

Introduction: Every day, thousands of illegal immigrants from Mexico come into the United States, taking advantage of our jobs, industries, and money. This will keep happening so long as we don’t take action. For centuries now, America has taken pride in being an open community for all, providing strength for the weak, and hope for the hopeless. Although the idea of being open to all is important in our society, illegal immigration is becoming more and more of a problem, rapidly destroying our economy and further pushing our country into debt, while also damaging our society as a whole.

Wall on the border

Background: Taking effect as early as even the 1960s, the project of constructing a wall along the US-Mexican border commenced, quickly and effectively neutralizing the dangers of illegal immigration, but this wall wasn’t and still isn’t always supported. Some may say that the wall spreads a racist message, and causes damage to our economy due to the ever-increasing costs to maintain such a project, but contrasting those opinions, a wall has proven to be effective in reducing illegal immigration with the highest cost-benefit ratio. Thesis statement: Because a wall has shown to be the most effective method of protection, coupled with the fact that so many people are illegally immigrating into the United States, unlawfully taking advantage of our resources, and destroying our economy, it is imperative to build a wall between our two nations in order to protect our nation from the threats that are posed against our legal citizens.

Topic sentence: Some may not support a wall for two main reasons, such as the fact that the wall will be too expensive to fund, and that it’s a racist statement that goes out to the world. Convinced that a wall won’t solve any problems, the opposers of a wall look for points to prove their views as truth. As Peter Schrag, a journalist of Californian politics and political history, says in his article about the wall’s effectiveness on stopping illegal immigration, “More than 670 miles of border fences, walls,

Introduction: Every day, thousands of illegal immigrants from Mexico come into the United States, taking advantage of our jobs, industries, and money. This will keep happening so long as we don’t take action. For centuries now, America has taken pride in being an open community for all, providing strength for the weak, and hope for the hopeless. Although the idea of being open to all is important in our society, illegal immigration is becoming more and more of a problem, rapidly destroying our economy and further pushing our country into debt, while also damaging our society as a whole.

Background: Taking effect as early as even the 1960s, the project of constructing a wall along the US-Mexican border commenced, quickly and effectively neutralizing the dangers of illegal immigration, but this wall wasn’t and still isn’t always supported. Some may say that the wall spreads a racist message, and causes damage to our economy due to the ever-increasing costs to maintain such a project, but contrasting those opinions, a wall has proven to be effective in reducing illegal immigration with the highest cost-benefit ratio.

Thesis statement: Because a wall has shown to be the most effective method of protection, coupled with the fact that so many people are illegally immigrating into the United States, unlawfully taking advantage of our resources, and destroying our economy, it is imperative to build a wall between our two nations in order to protect our nation from the threats that are posed against our legal citizens.

Topic sentence: Some may not support a wall for two main reasons, such as the fact that the wall will be too expensive to fund, and that it’s a racist statement that goes out to the world. Convinced that a wall won’t solve any problems, the opposers of a wall look for points to prove their views as truth. Evidence & citing: As Peter Schrag, a journalist of Californian politics and political history, says in his article about the wall’s effectiveness on stopping illegal immigration, “More than 670 miles of border fences, walls, bollards and spikes that Congress decreed in 2006 at an estimated cost of $4 billion (plus future maintenance) are almost completed.

The Border Patrol, which was increased from 9,000 agents in 2001 to 20,000 in 2009, costs an estimated $4 billion annually”(Schrag). Commentary: As he’s saying, the wall costs money, and lots of it. It won’t be possible to maintain, and this happens to be one of the greatest points against the construction of a wall. Although this presents an issue, because money is and always will be a concern, the opposers of a wall don’t seem to understand that we easily can afford such a feat.

Evidence & citing: The argument pertaining to the intense costs to fund a wall can easily be disproved by the simple fact that the US budget for the year of 2019 alone is over four-trillion dollars, which compared to the possible twenty-billion dollars, utterly eradicates the idea of a wall being too expensive. Topic sentence: As one of the other points that is exposed by the Democratic side of the argument, the idea of a wall is fundamentally racist.

Evidence & citing: Mark Karlin, a political researcher and reporter who found faults in arguments presented by opposing sides, presents his view on the wall’s true reasons for being built: “The origins of the billions of dollars spent on the largely symbolic, highly visible wall really starts much farther north with US organizations and people advocating for a white political power structure, groups like one recently represented at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which contend that a multicultural society is a danger to America”(Karlin). He is stating how a wall will directly close off our cultural growth, and won’t actually dissolve the root problems, being a symbol of white supremacy rather than a real solution. He advocates that a wall is racist and will only prove to be a negative drain on our work force and people. Commentary: This idea of a wall being racist is inherently false and the claims provided are stretching the truth quite a bit.

Evidence & citing: The wall is not meant to be against Latino and Hispanic populations of people, the wall is only there to protect the American citizens from the danger of illegal immigration, carrying no racist ulterior motives. It just so happens to be on the south-western border, and because this does end up affecting the population of non-white illegally immigrating people from Mexico, the opposers of a wall will latch onto this fact and claim it to be racist, in order to promote their viewpoint. While a wall may cost money, or be claimed as racist, these points are not nearly enough to deter the construction of a wall, as the reasons behind these arguments are based off of pseudo-claims and invalid evidence.

Topic sentence: A wall has proven time and time again to be a viable solution in repairing the security along our border, and the crime rate and illegal activity have fallen wherever a wall has been erected. Evidence & citing: Through the statistics provided by the Department of Homeland Security, it can be argued that a wall is actually quite effective, as “[p]atrols in the Southwest have substantially increased the amount of drugs, guns, and cash seized over the last three years: 74 percent more money, 41 percent more drugs, and, 159 percent more weapons have been apprehended. Additionally, since 2008, crime rates have fallen in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas”(Department of Homeland Security).

As more studies show, with data to back them up, walls have proven to be the most effective long term solution, and the numbers only further that point. With a wall, more money, drugs, and weapons have been confiscated from being illegally imported, which only proves the wall’s effectiveness. However, without a wall, more immigrants and people come in illegally each day, and us deciding against taking action is certainly not helping the matter. Evidence & citing: As more proof in the functionality of walls, Alex K Rich and Heather Newton, both professors of with degrees in law and ethics, quote the border patrol to say that

“[t]he proof that border walls are effective deterrents against unlawful entry is demonstrated by the fact that cities with walls or similar barriers in place have seen dramatic drops in the number of illegal immigrants crossing at those points. Border Patrol agents in Naco, Arizona, for example, reported that the wall built there in 1996 cut illegal immigration in half within a year” (Rich and Newton 2).

As Rich and Newton state, the wall has proven to be more effective than any of the other solutions that are brought to the table, and is one of the few solutions with actual results. As stated, when the current wall was constructed, the length which it stretched across underwent a massive drop in the amount of illegal immigrants by half. The fact that the wall has accomplished such massive changes in such a short amount of time proves that a wall is a necessary and practical solution. Evidence & citing: Westley Parker, a researcher and reporter, says that “despite these shortcomings, the number of illegal aliens caught by US border patrol fell dramatically as the length of the southwest barrier increased—evidence that even a limited barrier can deter illegal immigration”(Parker).

Topic sentence: Although the wall isn’t fully complete, even the wall that is finished has done wonders in terms of protecting our US citizens from illegal immigration. With a wall, it deters people from even trying to immigrate illegally as it has become much more dangerous and difficult. Evidence & citing: Even if people are attempting to cross, the wall is designed with the idea of security checkpoints where people are apprehended and captured if they are participating in illegal activity. Overall, a wall has proven to be effective and the reasons to build a wall far outweigh the reasons not to.

Simply put, we can’t sustain the limitless flow of immigrants, and as time goes on, it’s obvious that we need better security along our borders to protect our nation. Evidence & citing: As Alex Rich and Heather Newton say, ”As long as the border is permeable, the Mexican government will have no incentive to create more Mexican jobs, since anyone who wants a job can simply cross the border into the US”(Rich and Newton 2). Due to the fact that the permeable border is an issue, our root problem with Mexico is revealed, as without any reason to change, the Mexican economy will fall and we will suffer the consequences.

Most will agree that Mexico has come on hard times, but because we do nothing about it, and we don’t try to at least stop the flow, Mexico won’t do anything either. We will keep getting illegal immigrants who come in looking for jobs, and nothing will change. This segways into the main fact that while a few immigrants may not be too much of a hassle, a whole set of thousands daily can cause real problems within our economy.

Topic sentence: Completely debunking the idea that a wall would cost too much by providing another shocking statistic, the Federation for American Immigration Reform says that “the federal, state and local costs of more than 12.5 million people in the United States illegally was around $135 billion a year. Evidence & citing: After factoring in this population’s tax contributions, the group said the total economic impact of illegal immigration was around $116 billion a year (up from $113 billion in 2013)”(O’Brien and Raley).

Commentary: One of the biggest reasons people oppose a wall is due to cost, and the cost of a wall would be only $20 billion, being only 18 percent of the $113-billion annual cost to sustain illegal immigration. Illegal immigration is, in fact, illegal, and the fact that people oppose a wall despite, the insane benefits is unreal. This maneuver of building a wall would save so much money that it blows all the other numbers out of the water. A wall would save money, protect us from illegal immigration, and overall send a message to other countries that we are strong and won’t back down if we feel threatened.

Conclusion paragraph: As a necessary precaution to protect our nation, a wall must be built to reduce the amount of illegal immigrants from our border with Mexico. It would be cost effective and reduce the amount of illegal immigration immensely. Even if the opposition says that a wall would send racist signals and cost too much, it would be simply a statement that we are not afraid to back down, and that we are ready to fight for our rights as Americans. It is our responsibility to protect our country, and the best way to go about accomplishing this is simply building a wall. There are too many reasons that we can’t simply ignore our issues with Mexico and we must take action to either reform our systems or set defenses.

Works Cited

1. “Fencing the Southern Border of the United States Reflects American Racism.” Should the US Close Its Borders?, edited by Louise Gerdes, Greenhaven Press, 2014. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010615232/OVIC?u=powa9245&sid=OVIC&xid=3aa62ced.
2. O’Brien, Matt, and Spencer Raley. “The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers | Federation for American Immigration Reform.” Federation for American Immigration Reform, 27 Sept. 2017, fairus.org/issue/publications-resources/fiscal-burden-illegal-immigration-united-states-taxpayers.
3. Parker, Westley. “Border Walls Work.” American Renaissance, 28 Sept. 2018, www.amren.com/features/2018/02/border-walls-work/.
4. Rich, Alex K. and Heather Newton. “Point: A Wall Is the Best Way to Protect the U.S. Border.” Points of View: Border Walls, 31 Mar. 2017, p. 2. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=28675183&site=pov-live.
5. Schrag, Peter. “Strengthening the US-Mexico Border Will Not Stop Illegal Immigration.” Illegal Immigration, edited by David Haugen and Susan Musser, Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010226274/OVIC?u=powa9245&sid=OVIC&xid=11a2d03b. Accessed 26 Apr. 2018. Originally published as “Why Strengthening the U.S.-Mexican Border Leads to More Illegal Immigration,” Washington Post, 18 July 2010.
6. Security, Homeland. “Home.” Department of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland Security, 2018, www.dhs.gov/topic/border-security.