The U.S. Should Erect a Fence Along the Mexican Border

Since she has chosen to use the acceptance round for her opening argument, I will be fair and use the second round as my opening argument, without any rebuttals. My opponent may then re-post her opening argument for me to write a rebuttal to in Round 3 per the established rules for this debate. I am arguing the position that the U. S. needs to erect a protective, border control fence on the U. S. -Mexico line, due to crime and economic concerns. First, let’s look at some statistics. While estimates of illegal aliens (further referred to as IAs to save space) vary, even the most conservative numbers put the total at 10 million, with the Bear Stearns Report claiming as many as 20 million in 2005. [1] According to the Pew Hispanic Research Center, over 1 million IAs cross the border every year. [1] That means at this moment, there are between 16 and 26 million people in this country who legally are not supposed to be here. Ten million is a big spread, but even if we use the smallest number of 16 million, that’s an incredible drain on our nation. Now let’s look at their impact. Crime. According to the Violent Crime Institute, “it is consistent to find sex offenders comprising 2% of illegals apprehended. ” [2] Dr. Deborah Schrman-Kauflin goes on to say that this is a conservative estimate, but even based on those numbers, “there are approximately 240,000 illegal immigrant sex offenders in the United States. ” The 1500 criminals she studied had “a total of 5,999 victims,” with each offender averaging four victims each. “This places the estimate for victimization numbers around 960,000 for the 88 months examined in this study. ” That is nearly one million victims of sexual crime that would not have happened if these criminals were not able to get into the U. S. Perhaps most disturbing was that in “22% of all sex crimes committed by illegal immigrants, victims with physical and mental disabilities were targeted. These disabled victims were each under age 18. ” (I have only included sexual violence in an effort to save space. I reserve the right to cite additional statistics and expand my crime argument in later rounds. ) Gang violence spreading from Mexico into the U. S. is also an incredibly frightening problem. The Los Zetas, a particularly violent band of thugs, has come across the border and set up shop in states all over the country. Their signatures include “beheading and dismemberment of rival gang members, military personnel, law enforcement officers and public officials, and the random kidnappings and killings of civilians who get caught in its butchery and bloodletting. ” [3] Border sheriffs say they are “outgunned and outmanned” by an enemy with “automatic weapons, grenades and state-of-the-art communications and tracking systems,” all funded by drug profits. [3] In fact, the leader of the Zetas has an “arsenal at his disposal,” including “helicopters, armored vehicles, AK-47 assault rifles, AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, MP-5 submachine guns, 50-mm sniper rifles, shoulder-fired missiles, grenade launchers, bazookas, armor-piercing ammunition, plastic explosives, dynamite and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). ” MS-13, another notorious Mexican drug smuggling gang, now has roughly 10,000 members and operations in 42 states, according to the FBI. Gone are the days of Al Capone, or the Italian mob. All told, Mexican drug cartels are in 276 cities across the U. S. , and “represent the nation’s most serious organized crime threat. ” [3] In Pinal County, Arizona, the sheriff says these groups “literally do control parts of Arizona. ” There is also a very real national security threat present in the number of Other Than Mexicans, or OTMs, crossing the border into the U. S. through Mexico. “45,008 illegal aliens from countries on the U. S. list of state-sponsors of terror or from countries that protected terrorist organizations and their members were released into the general public between 2001 and 2005 despite the fact that DHS couldn't confirm their identity. ” [3] Welfare. “In Texas, 54 percent of legal immigrants and 70 percent of illegal immigrants receive welfare assistance, with illegal immigrants generally receiving benefits on behalf of their U. S. -born children. ” [4] According to the Center for Immigration Studies, state governments spend between $11 billion and $22 billion in welfare payments to IAs. In Los Angeles County alone, illegal aliens’ children born in the United States collected nearly $570 million in welfare and food stamps in 2009. ” [5] Annually, LA County taxpayers pay $1 billion per year in total costs from illegal immigrants, including healthcare, welfare, and public safety (crime costs). Medical. The Urban Institute found that “California was subsidizing illegal immigrants to the tune of about $1.1 billion. ” Several hospitals have had to close their doors in CA alone due to the staggering cost of treating IAs. All told, illegal immigrants cost this country billions of dollars each year, create hundreds of thousands of crime victims, and waste government resources through multiple deportations, not to mention bringing incredible amounts of illegal drugs into this country, further draining funds that then need to go to fight addiction and drug-related crime. Erecting a secure border fence is the most logical way to bar illegal aliens from entering this country. [1] . http://www.weneedafence.com... [2] . http://www.drdsk.com... [3] . http://www.washingtontimes.com... [4] . http://blog.chron.com... [5] . http://antonovich.co.la.ca.us...