Walls between countries are nothing new. . . . So the promise by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to build a wall between the United States and Mexico is not exactly a novel idea. . . . So do border walls work? Not according to Ruben Andersson, an anthropologist at the London School of Economics and Political Science. . . . For one thing Anderson said walls tend to be built for domestic political reasons by governments that want to be seen to be doing something about migration. For another, it seems that where there’s a wall there’s a way. In other words, people who want to cross a border badly enough will find creative ways to circumvent a wall. . . . “These fences are not solving anything, Anderson said. “Numbers are not going down. People will find a way.” Trump’s New Idea? Walls have lined national borders for thousands of years, Don Melvin, CNN 8/27/15.
Fact Check: Anderson makes some valid points. Some who want to stop illegal immigration seem to think that more fencing on the Mexican border is the primary solution. They are mistaken. One outstanding reason is that as many as 40 percent of illegal aliens in the U.S. were not illegal border crossers. Instead, they were people who entered on legal visas, and remained illegally after their visas expired. Obviously, other steps are necessary to deal with them.
Andersson is correct to observe that a wall by itself is not enough to stop determined border crossers. And it is precisely for this reason that some politicians focus on a border wall to deal with illegal immigration. They really don’t want to deal with the problem, but advocating a wall and nothing else gives the false impression they are trying to solve the problem.
This is not to say, however, that a border wall or fence is useless. These barriers can be quit useful if they are parts, among other parts, of a comprehensive plan to deal with illegal immigration. Barriers are helpful in preventing mass uninterrupted movement of people across frontiers. This was the case when effective fencing stopped the surges of illegal aliens across the Mexican border south of San Diego back in the early nineties. On the other side of the world, a strong fence on the Israeli border has helped to stem the flow of illegal migrants into Israel.
Still, once again, a fence is not enough. Also necessary are sensory devices to make it known when people are trying get through, and sufficient personnel on the ground to respond to attempted entries. Just as important, however, or perhaps even more so to curtail illegal immigration is effective interior enforcement to expel resident illegal aliens who successfully make it past the border and those who overstay visas. Equally crucial is deactivating the economic magnets that attract illegal aliens, most specifically jobs and welfare benefits.
Unfortunately, the Obama Administration has systematically sabotaged federal interior enforcement, and has sued states that have tried to assist that enforcement. According to one estimate, nearly 90 percent of resident illegal aliens need not fear that they will be deported. Also, Obama and his party—along with cheap labor Republican interests—oppose mandatory use by businesses of the E-Verify system, one that enables businesses to identify illegal job applicants. Without mandatory E-Verify and other steps, it is hard to prevent illegal aliens from taking American jobs.
Nothing is going to change as long as Obama is in power. Patriotic Americans must hope that whoever succeeds him will care about secure borders and our rule of law. In that case, it would be helpful to talk about extending the existing walls and fences along the Mexican border—as well as all the other necessary steps to deal with illegal immigration.