Donald Trump's Idea for a Border Wall is a Good Idea

Keep in mind that I am referring to Donald Trump's plan specifically, not necessarily the idea of a border fence in general, though many of the points I will make still apply. 1. Expenses and the American Economy First, let's assume that the US tried to pay for this wall. It's unclear exactly how much this wall would cost as this varies wildly depending on what the wall is made of and how many fortifications it has (guards, barbed wire, etc. ). However, it's clear from Trump's website that he expects it to cost billions. [1] Currently, the US is already in the trillions in debt. [2] We would have to borrow more money in order to be able to pay for the wall. It might be possible to afford the wall if the government had an increase in taxes and thus had more of its own money to spend, but Trump wants to reduce taxes significantly. [3] Paying for the wall would clearly add unnecessary amounts of debt to our existing amount. 2. Relations with Mexico Currently, the US has fairly friendly ties with Mexico. The US Department of State says: "U. S. relations with Mexico are strong and vital. The two countries share a 2,000-mile border, and bilateral relations between the two have a direct impact on the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, whether the issue is trade and economic reform, education exchange, citizen security, drug control, migration, entrepreneurship and innovation, or the environment. The scope of U. S. -Mexican relations is broad and goes beyond diplomatic and official relations. " This clearly shows how vital our relations with Mexico are. Trump plans to make Mexico pay for the wall he wants. This is bad "manners" for several reasons. First, because this involves the livelihoods of people in both the US and Mexico, the two countries should be cooperating on a deal like this. Giving Mexico full responsibility is just unfair. Second, demanding such an immense task would anger many people in Mexico. Mexicans have burned effigies of Trump because of their distaste for him. [4] Even the current president of Mexico has shown his dislike of Trump and says he won't pay for the wall. [5] Forcing the wall on Mexico like Trump plans is just bad for international relationships. 3. Immigrants and the Economy Now, let me be clear in saying that I am in no way condoning illegal immigration into the US or into Mexico. However, a notable portion of people in the US are illegal immigrants from Mexico, and we need to accept that our economy functions because of them. Am I saying that any economy needs illegal immigrants to function? No. What I am saying is that illegal immigrants are currently an important part of *our* economy, and we need to recognize that. Some immigrants are willing to wallow through infested water to get to the US because they are so desperate to get a job. Police officers will see them and tell them to get out, but most don't. The officers themselves won't get into the water because it is filthy, but the immigrants have to if they want work. Why am I bringing this up? Because it shows how much these people need jobs. They are willing to do hard labor that many Americans won't do. Corporations are cognizant of this and plan specifically to give these immigrants jobs because it keeps their company running. I find this to be a despicable practice because the labor conditions are often very bad and possibly illegal, but we need to accept that this is a part of our economy as it stands and until we can find a suitable, sustainable way to change our economy, this is how it works in America. 4. More Problems than Solutions So, let's assume that all of the previous three points were ignored and construction on the wall commenced. There are still many problems to be had. How many gates to pass through do there need to be? This is important because a lot of people are going to pass the border. How long will this wall take to build? Likely, a while. This is also important because the wall doesn't solve very much if it's nonexistent. Perhaps most importantly, how much security do we need? This is a big issue. Recall that China built the Great Wall to keep out the Mongols, but it didn't work. Simply building a simple wall or fence likely wouldn't keep most Mexicans out either. So, should we fortify the wall with barbed wire? The border with Mexico is almost 2,000 miles long, so that's an enormous amount of metal to purchase. [6] Should we add lots of guards armed with guns to guard the wall? That's definitely more effective, but who's going to pay these people their wages? The government? Considering the amount of workers that would need to be hired, that's going to be a notable amount of money even at minimum wage. Not to mention, a heavily guarded wall between two countries defended with armed guards sounds a lot like the DMZ between North and South Korea. Just saying. I look forward to your arguments! Sources: [1]. https://www.donaldjtrump.com... [2]. http://www.usdebtclock.org... [3]. https://www.donaldjtrump.com... [4]. http://www.cnn.com... [5]. http://www.reuters.com...[6]https://help.cbp.gov...