United States-Mexico Border Fence

Introduction I would like to begin by thanking my opponent for responding. I believe him to be an intelligent, rational individual and therefore I truly look forward to debating him. I assure the voters that I will not be distracted from the facts for any reason. I will be rational and reasonable in this debate. However, I would like to define a few terms before we begin. Many words have multiple definitions, but I will state the definitions that best fit this context. A border is "the line that separates one country, state, province, etc., from another." A fence, in this context is "a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary." Now that the terms have been defined, we can begin the debate. Main Argument As my opponent and the voters know, I will argue that there should not be a fence separating the United States of America and United Mexican States (the official name of the nation). I assure everyone that this is for good reason. I am going to restate the premise I made in round one and then I will expand on my ideas, presenting plenty of evidence to support my claim. I believe that nations should not be at political war. I believe in alliance and diplomacy. I am aware that drug cartels are an issue, but they can be dealt with. The border fence has environmental effects, economic effects, and other notable effects. According to The Environmental Impacts of the Border Wall Between Texas and Mexico, the fence has many negative effects on the environment: "The United States government asserts that construction of the border wall between Texas and Mexico would affect wildlife and aquatic resources by conferring only “short- and long-term negligible to moderate adverse and minor beneficial impacts.” This assertion is inaccurate, according to ecologists and wildlife biologists and information contained in the government’s own preliminary environmental documents. To the contrary, the detrimental effect of the border wall on wildlife and the environment in Texas will be significant. The serious deleterious effects of the border wall have been documented by scientific research, review of historical evidence, and expert opinion. In contrast, the data relied upon to formulate the government’s conclusion of “negligible to moderate adverse and minor beneficial impacts” is almost nonR08;existent. Furthermore, in its environmental reviews the government failed to adequately consider the proposed border wall’s indirect or cumulative effects, the effects to wildlife and conservation lands, and meaningful alternatives that could minimize environmental damage." The MLA citation does not work on that specific source. I apologize for this inconvenience, but I will post the link below for you: http://www.utexas.edu... I do not understand how a fence - running for thousands of kilometers - can be beneficial. I hope you can answer this question in the arguments to come. Instead of a fence, there are alternatives I would propose. I would propose an innovative security system. I do not yet know what this system does and how it will operate, but I assure you that we need it. This combined with immigration reform and gun control will calm the issues. We do not need a fence. A fence is pathetic and irrelevant. It will not do much, if anything. Granted, there is an issue regarding the drug cartels. But, as always, there are safer alternatives. As you can see, the border fence is disastrous for wildlife. If we removed the fence, one may ask "How do we stop the drug cartels now? With no fence, they will overcome us!" I believe that the drug cartels can be overcome once we improve relations with the country Mexico itself and that we pass comprehensive immigration reform, as the Democrats are trying to do right here at home. The issue of the drug cartels can also be calmed and reduced by passing gun control laws. Violence will decrease when we enact these policies. We should also encourage the Mexican government to do the same. I will post the link to my Gun Control debate here, in case you need any additional information: http://www.debate.org... "The Mexican Drug War is an ongoing armed conflict among rival drug cartels fighting one another for regional control and against the Mexican government forces and civilian vigilante groups. Since 2006, when intervention with the Mexican military began, the government's principal goal has been to put down the drug-related violence." I oppose the border fence for good reason. For one, the fence has negative effects toward wildlife. Secondly, there are other methods to solving the issues Mexico has. Thirdly, we need diplomacy, alliance, and compromise. We need to pass immigration reform and gun control, assist the Mexican government, and support the victims of drugs. We have an obligation to our ideals. Let's pass immigration reform. MLA Citations "Border." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. <http://dictionary.reference.com...;. "Fence." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. <http://dictionary.reference.com...; "Mexican Drug War." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Mar. 2014. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org...;.