A Case Against the Real Problem

Saskia Onggo

April 20, 2017

Mark Aguirre

With the recent change of presidency in the United States, many are wondering whether

there should be a wall built between the United States and Mexico. As of right now, there are
about eleven, almost twelve million immigrants currently inhabiting the U.S. There is a looming

threat of terrorism that is pushing these countries to make a decision to keep their citizens safe.

Continuing to build a wall against a problem that doesnt present any sort of danger would be

pointless.

Illegal immigration has not resulted in a high crime rate even with the growing

population. Within the stretch of the years between 1990 and 2013, our immigrant population

jumped from 3.5 million increasing up to 11.2 million. Despite this, FBI data indicate that the

violent crime rate declined 48 percent. (Rambaut). Thats a cut back by nearly half! If citizens

were to report people who had only committed the crime of having an illegal status, communities

would fall. People wouldnt trust each other and would fail to recognize actual crimes. In

communities where people are afraid to talk to police, more crimes go unreported, fewer

witnesses come forth, and people are less likely to report suspicious activity. (California Senate

Public Safety Committee). Diminishing that trust would only hurt the U.S. more in the long run.

The real menace that is making everybody attempt to be more cautious is the threat of

terrorism, but Mexico doesnt contribute to that danger. Foreigners whove carried out terrorist

attacks have entered the United States legally on immigrant, non-immigrant work/study, or

tourist visas. (Open Borders). These two problems that the U.S. faces are actually quite different

besides the fact that the two involve people traveling. Mexico, additionally, is also a catholic

based country whereas most terrorist attacks have been steered by Islamic beliefs. Continuing to

build a wall or a fence might be able to reduce the number of illegal immigrants that live in the

United States, but it will but no stop to a bigger and more major problem. Terrorism.

Migration isnt something that should be pushed into the pit of problems that America

faces. Immigration is a natural right. (Krayewski). The people that walk around and the
families all migrated from somewhere. Why should people be singled out for not being from the

U.S.? After all, how is this any different than how the Europeans migrated? Immigrants havent

started any more problems other than repeating history. Immigration is good for the economy.

Illegal immigrants already pay taxes. (Krayewski). What else is there to want from people who

are trying to make their lives better for themselves? What is the point of attempting to stop

people from pursuing whats making them happy?

In conclusion, building or continuing to build this wall would not be beneficial to the

U.S. or Mexico. It would be a waste of resources and money that nobody has. It would also

prove that no matter how many times people say how much humans have progressed throughout

time, there really has been no growth. How are people expected to live in harmony when theres

no trust? The motive of terrorism is to inflict fear and to cause violence. Wouldnt this be a form

of surrender when people get shut out based on a status that isnt even visible? As a citizen of the

U.S., there are rights. The right to vote, the right to have a say, but doesnt everybody deserve to

have basic human rights? So the question still stands, what will the President of the United States

decide to do?