Walls are not always an effective way of keeping people out. If anything, a wall between two countries only angers and temporarily delays the people who wish to cross over. The hundreds of miles of fence barrier along the United States-Mexico border are a prime example of a failed attempt to solve the illegal immigration problem.
Construction of what some dub “the Great Wall of Mexico” has been a financial burden for the United States, and it still hasn’t stopped illegal immigrants from crossing the border. The sections of walls and fences have only made the passage from Mexico into the United States more difficult, and therefore more dangerous, resulting in unnecessary injuries and deaths.
Illegal immigration is an issue that has been slightly forgotten in recent months; however, it cannot stand to be given the blind eye any longer. In a 2005 BBC News article, then-Mexican President Vicente Fox described the United States’ decision to build the fence along the border as “shameful,” and said it was a “very bad signal” from a country of immigrants. According to a 2006 article in the Christian Science Monitor, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services put the number of illegal immigrants at 7 million. Since then, U.S. officials have said that number has grown by as much as 500,000 a year, according to the article.
Thousands of Mexicans are arrested every year as they attempt to cross the border in search of employment and a better place to raise their children. Now, determined to enter the United States, many have found ways to breach the fence. According to a December 2008, USA Today article, “the new fence will not stop people from digging underneath it, driving around it or cutting through it with a blowtorch.”
The number of deaths and injuries of migrants along the border has increased during the past 20 years due to heat stroke, dehydration and hypothermia. According to the U.S. Border Patrol, 1,954 people died crossing the border between 1998 and 2004. Because the fence makes the crossing more difficult, people are exposed to the elements for longer periods of time as they attempt to cross, and are at a higher risk of falling ill.
The fence not only endangers the health and safety of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border, it also has a negative effect on animals and their environments. Already it demolishes animal habitats, prevents animals from reaching water and disrupts migration patterns. The border project also threatens The Nature Conservancy’s Lennox Foundation Southmost Preserve. The 1,034-acre preserve is located at the southern tip of Texas along the Rio Grande and “harbors a rare sabal palm forest, a native plant nursery that supplies reforestation projects throughout South Texas, a compatible agriculture demonstration and habitat for Texas’ highly imperiled wildcats, the ocelot and jaguarundi,” according to an article on The Nature Conservancy’s Web site. The fence structure, which would actually be constructed a mile and a half north of the U.S.-Mexico border, would leave three quarters of the Southmost Preserve in “no-man’s land.” Thus, the fence is not just a border. It encroaches upon private property and, in this case, a nature reserve. These effects need the attention and action of government officials before irreplaceable pieces of land are permanently destroyed.
The current immigration policy is just as harmful to our foreign relations as the fence is; it condones the breaking of family bonds, making the United States appear uncaring and unwilling to put the effort into creating a better policy. Under the current policy, children caught entering the United States alone are automatically deported, regardless of the circumstances. On latinalista.net, a Web site that gives a viewpoint on a wide range of topics from a “Latina perspective,” Marisa Treviño tells the story of one family, torn apart by the U.S. immigration policy. Thirteen-year-old Jose Andrade, once a Virginia middle school student, had been living in the United States since his mother left him behind in the care of his extended family. Not long ago, he journeyed to reunite with his mother; however, when he attempted to cross the Texas-Mexico border, he was caught by the U.S. Border Patrol and was held at the detention center for nine days before being sent back to El Salvador. Andrade’s mother has a visa and is legally working in the United States, but because her child was caught illegally entering the country without a guardian, he was deported. His mother remains in the United States, where she must continue to work in order to support herself and her family.
Many other immigrant families have experienced this same rude awakening. There is no justice in tearing families apart and deporting children back to their country of origin after they have spent so much of their time establishing themselves here in the United States.
Among the many other tasks President-elect Barack Obama and his administration will face in the next four years, immigration should be a constant subject of discussion. We can only hope that he will fulfill his promises to preserve the integrity of our borders in a way that does not make us appear so “shameful.”
The next administration needs to find an equilibrium that satisfies both U.S. citizens and the people attempting to immigrate illegally. Though it is imperative that we continue to ensure the safety and security of our borders, we must also demonstrate respect for the people who wish to reside in this country. This calls for tossing aside hostile perceptions of illegal immigrants and attempting to approach the issue carefully and thoughtfully, without the hostility that has been prevalent in previous years. We need to stop focusing so much on keeping people out and instead work to increase the number of legal immigrants and keep families together.
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A dangerous barrier
Daily Emerald
January 11, 2009
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