This assumes the fence is efficacious and therefore the cause of the reduction. It is not – there are numerous bypasses, ranging from simple ladders on pickup trucks to complex tunnels for the movement of people and drugs.1 While it may seem to be the case that the fence has caused the reduced numbers of illegal immigrants attempting to cross, in actuality this is because of the economic downturn in the United States.2,3 If there are no jobs, it stands to reason there is not going to be an influx of workers.  Even if it were efficacious, however, the idea that immigrants steal jobs is fundamentally flawed. Immigrants fill gaps in the domestic labour market.4 They are non-competitive for most types of jobs, such as supervisor positions.5 And anyways, most economists say that immigration grows the economy by expanding demand for goods and services that immigrants consume, and consequently this actually creates more jobs. While immigrants certainly may push down wages for some occupations, the net effect is to increase average wages for non-immigrant Americans.  Finally, the economies of many border towns on the United States’ side of the fence will suffer because of decreased demand for their goods and services.  1McGreal, Chris. “The battle of the US-Mexico frontier.”  2Associated Press. “U.S.-Mexico border fence almost complete.”  3Archibold, Randal and Preston, Julia. “Homeland Security Stands by Its Fence.”  4Cowen, Tyler. “How Immigrants Create More Jobs.”  5Novak, Viveca. “Does Immigration Cost Jobs?”