It will cost twenty-five BILLION dollars to build a wall between America and Mexico.
Instantly, several issues pop into my mind.
Money.
Social impact.
Security.
Money.
I mean, it’s not like building a fence between your property and your neighbors and splitting the bill. Mexico will not pay, which only means one thing, Americans will have to foot the bill.
Donald Trump plans to clip the wings of many dreamers or “wetbacks” (which is a derogatory term used by some people in the United States to refer to Mexicans).
How does one man think he can tell a whole other country what to do? A country that he is not a citizen of?
What Donald Trump is planning has gone beyond campaign promises. It seems campaign promises are becoming increasingly easy to develop but are focusing less on real statistics? It seems political views are founded in an emotional storm, rather than practicing pragmatic thinking. Aren’t they supposed to be stopping fires instead of creating ones?
Steven Kopits put this beautifully in an OpEd news report for CNBC when he said:
“Thus, undocumented immigrants might be willing to pay $6,000-$8,000 in visa fees and taxes per year if they could enter the U.S. on short notice at will. Even at the higher end, the effective tax rate would only average around 30 percent. Put it all together, and the Federal government is probably leaving revenues in excess of $40 billion on the table every year. Dealing with illegal immigrants is quite expensive.
FAIR estimated the annual cost in 2010, excluding healthcare expenditures, at $22 billion. Much of it is spent on enforcement at the border. If Mexican immigrants with clean criminal records could enter at will for a fee, then the entire need for a wall disappears.”
We are talking about economics here!
Unfortunately, this subject has been shaken and stirred with a hint of emotion to earn supporters.
As a fellow immigrant and Hispanic, I believe that it is our mission to show we are not people who are wrongdoers, walking around with stealth, stealing jobs. I’m not referring to the lady who cleans your house or the guy who weeds your garden, or people working their butts off on farms. I’m talking about higher positions within the Senate, our government.
Why is our president treating this important issue with such inflexibility?
What does it mean for the undocumented living in this country?
Not criminals, but humans who are coming to America to seek a better life. People who enrich this country, and respect the constitution. It is not just adults that are involved. Many immigrants arrive with young families. Innocent children who have been dragged into the people mill.
How can we help all those children without their parents fearing the worst?
What about all the talk of banning Muslims?
Are we so out of touch with our humanity in this country to such an extent that we cannot help our brothers and sisters?
If the tables were turned, what would happen?
I’d love to see those people who vote for irrational actions, live in a foreign, underprivileged country and see the reality of injustice, corruption, and poverty run its course.
In case our leader doesn’t know, ISIS may interpret this as a goal to get organized and enlist more people. These laws only increase the risk of extremism. If you cannot understand how it is to live in an oppressive, war-torn region, you cannot understand how this executive order is a slap to humanity.
These rash policies could take months or even years to be implemented. It seems our new government is playing mind games that only serve to create a new wave of racism; viewpoints that breed more oppression issues.
We must protest against Donald Trump’s plan to build walls that divide us.
We must instead, build bridges to unite us.
The Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, has stated that his country will not pay for this wall.
Who is going to be responsible for this endeavor?
The American people?
How are we going to submit to this kind of immigration rhetoric?
There are so many questions.
It is up to us to change history before history repeats itself.
I’ve witnessed and was part of the biggest march in the history of the United States. A collective awakening.
Now, we have the responsibility to hold our senators and congressional representatives accountable for their actions. We must be willing to fight and defend the fundamental human rights of ourselves and our brothers and sisters.
Mr. Trump, tear down this wall of racism and division!
Thank you for writing this Stephanie. It needs to be said. Again and again and again. And after all the boasts that the Mexican government would pay for the wall! Wish I could protest x amount on my tax returns! How dare he spend OUR money on things most of us do not agree with. As John Michael said, I will be sharing this many times over!
xoSusan
Stephanie your writing is very evocative and passionate, I’m glad to see you are getting your thoughts and experiences out here for everyone to see and read.
Steph, you pack so many powerful messages into this piece. 45 and his cabinet are shamefully out of touch on the subject of humanity, and, as you point out, even their economic plans–and they’re supposed to be businesspeople!– are ridiculously inefficient.
The idea of allowing immigrants without criminal records to enter the US for a fee is so simple and brilliant.
This is a great piece Steph, thank you for writing it.
I love this Stephanie. It is beautifully written and full of passion. I will be sharing it far and wide my friend. 🙂