The US Federal Government Should Not Construct a Border Fence Between the US and Mexico

I. The Cost of a Wall The costs are a bit up in the air, because it depends on the material used to build the wall, the height of the wall, the thickness of the wall, and the exact location (and therefore length) of the wall. It also depends on whether the wall would supplement the current fence that runs along about a third of the border, or if that fence would be fully supplanted by the new wall. I'm going to base my numbers off of what the wall would most likely look like (and yes, my analysis borrows heavily on Donald Trump's proposed specs), but if my opponent disagrees with my specs, I will be glad to change my numbers accordingly. The material would be reinforced concrete, the height of the wall would be 40 feet, and the thickness of the wall would be eight inches. While the US-Mexico border is 2,000 miles, due to natural barriers, the wall would only need to be 1,000 miles. The wall would also supplant rather the supplement the current fence (because it leaves certain parts, namely the ones covered by the fence, more exposed the others, namely the ones covered by the wall). [1][2] So, calculating the cost of that much concrete, including materials and shipping costs, "We spoke to a retired estimator and economist for one of the nation’s largest construction firms. He worked through some of the math, though he did not want to be identified publicly. Roughly, he said a wall of this type would cost at least $25 billion - and that is not counting a video system to keep watch on the border. Building the wall would also require at least 40,000 workers a year for at least four years, but he doubted it could be built so quickly. " So, when all is said and done, the cost appears to be $25 billion. [2] It's also important to remember that the costs don't just equal the cost of concrete needed to make the wall plus the cost of shipping it. There's also labor costs and maintenance costs. Assuming that 40,000 workers are hired for the job, that the wage is $10 per hour, that the workers are only working for eight hours a day, and that the project is completed in four years, all of which are minimum values (meaning the numbers could only get higher), we get that the minimum labor cost is $5 billion. Maintenance costs are a little harder to pin down. They have been estimated to be $750 million a year, with an additional cost of $1.4 billion to man the wall with 21,000 border patrol agents. [3] Therefore, we see that the wall, at a minimum, costs $30 billion, with $2 billion in maintenance required to make it as effective as possible. And this still doesn't include all the other potential costs, including the costs of using eminent domain or damage to the wall from natural or manmade sources. With all this in mind, the wall better have some sizable benefits to justify this massive cost. [4] II. The Uselessness of the Wall The only reason why the wall is proposed is as a solution to keep out Central and South American immigrants from entering the country. It is often claimed that such immigrants are often criminals, specifically drug dealers, rapists, and murderers. Then the wall should also reduce the flow of drugs and the incidence of rape in the US. However, the wall doesn't keep out migrants very well. "Nearly half of all the unauthorized migrants now living in the United States entered the country legally through a port of entry such as an airport or a border crossing point where they were subject to inspection by immigration officials, according to new estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center. " These people apply for visas, and then overstay their time, becoming unauthorized. A wall can't prevent this. Building a wall along the US-Mexico border would just encourage people to apply for visas, which they would then overstay. [5] But there are an even more easier ways to subvert the wall - ladders and tunnels. Even with 21,000 border guards, there would still be sections of the wall that would be patrolled just little enough that immigrants could sneak in using ladders. And even with border guards placed every foot, it would be hard to stop immigrants from tunneling under the wall. Mexicans are rather famous for building tunnels to smuggle drugs, and there's no doubt that they'd use this tactic if a wall was constructed. Thus, rapists and murderers would not be any more inhibited by a border wall by using either method mentioned above. [6] It's a bit more complicated for drug dealers, because they have to transport contraband into the US, which couldn't be done by overstaying a visa. But the more traditional methods for subverting the wall mentioned above, namely the use of ladders and tunnels, would still allow for the transportation of drugs across the border. It is also common practice for Mexican drug dealers to throw or catapult drugs over the existing fence to dealers on the other side of the wall. [7] But there's nothing surprising here, as historical precedent agrees. The Great Wall of China did nothing to stop the Mongols. The Maginot Line did nothing to stop the Nazis. Many people even got over the Berlin Wall, one of the most heavily fortified and guarded walls in human history. Even modern precedent agrees. Walls built along the Israeli-Palestinian and Balkan countries’ borders have done little to stop Palestinians and refugees from crossing them. There's no reason to except a wall built along the US-Mexican border to be any different. Thus, there seems to be little benefit to having a wall constructed. Therefore, the cost of the wall mentioned above is simply not worth it given the marginal benefits the wall would have. III. The Benefits of Mexican Immigrants But even if there was some perfect wall that we somehow had the money to pay for, there'd still be one crucial problem, namely that its intention is counterproductive. Most immigration is a net benefit to the country that receives the immigrants. One, there's the economy. "For the United States as a whole, immigrants’ share of total output was about 14.7 percent over 2009–2011. Note that this is actually larger than immigrants’ 13 percent share of the population. " So immigrants contribute to the US economy, and, per capita, contribute more compared to native born citizens. In addition, "Moreover, many immigrants are business owners. In fact, the share of immigrant workers who own small businesses is slightly higher than the comparable share among U. S. -born workers. " So not only do immigrants create more economic activity than they’re supposed to, they help spur it even further by starting businesses, which encourage native born citizens to shop or work more as well. [8] And two, there's the benefit of added culture. Multiculturalism is beneficial, because it exposes both natives and immigrants to each other, giving each a more holistic worldview and a greater conception of global identity. It also strengthens the democratic process. “Multiculturalism teaches the citizens of a democratic society to value diversity and differences, helping to integrate diverse cultures into the larger society without cutting them off from their past. This, in turn, helps to reinforce the polity because citizens are willing to make sacrifices for those with whom they share a common project. ” While this isn’t a debate on multiculturalism, I thought it was appropriate to mention the benefits of it to argue that immigration, and specifically Mexican immigration to the United States, is beneficial. [9]Therefore, we see that there are benefits to Mexican immigration to the United States, meaning that, even if a wall could stop the flow of immigration, we would actually see a cost, not a benefit. Conclusion The cost of a reliable wall is, at the very minimum, $30 billion, plus $2 billion a year to maintain the wall. The wall is useless because it doesn't stop immigrants from overstaying their visas, meaning that rapists and murderers could come over just as easily, and because drug dealers are, even now, using things like ladders, tunnels, catapults, and more to get drugs over the currently existing border fence. Thus, the costs are not worth the marginal benefits. However, even if the wall had reasonable benefits in keeping out Mexicans, it would leave out the fact that immigrants, including Mexican immigrants immigrating to the US, have benefits, including spurring greater economic activity and encouraging multiculturalism. Overall, a border wall built between the US and Mexico should not be built. Sources [1]: . https://help.cbp.gov... [2]: . https://www.washingtonpost.com... [3]: . http://www.cnbc.com... [4]: . http://www.nytimes.com... [5]: . http://www.pewhispanic.org... [6]: . http://content.time.com... [7]: . http://www.businessinsider.com... [8]: . http://www.epi.org...[9]: . http://www.taraskuzio.net...