Principles over Party

A continuation of Borders, Barriers and Boundaries…

To continue the discussion of the US-Mexico border wall, let’s roll over a few facts first. 

The US-Mexico border extends a total of 1,954 miles, plus an additional 18 miles in the Pacific Ocean and 12 miles in the Gulf of Mexico. It is the most frequently crossed international border in the world, ranking in approximately 350 million legal crossings every year. The US States along the southern border include: California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. 

The longest stretch of border is between Mexico and Texas for a total of 1,254 miles. California is the smallest stretch of border for a total of 140 miles. New Mexico isn’t far from that at 179.5 miles. And Arizona and Mexico share a total of 372.5 miles, including 19 miles along the Colorado River. Currently, approximately 700 miles of the 1,954 mile stretch of border is walled or fenced in. For those who don’t like math, that’s 1,254 miles of border not walled for fenced in.  

Along the border you can find a total of 48 legal international US-Mexico border crossings with 330 legal ports of entry. These ports of entry can range from heavily trafficked bridges to dusty roads monitored by remote cameras to pedestrian paths between cities. It is estimated that approximately 12 million people live along the US-Mexico border today. 

I wanted to have these facts, along with the brief border wall history from the previous post, before turning to opinion and judging the topic based on my 3 Principles: #1 Respects Human Life, #2 Abides by the Constitution, & #3 Helps those who need it most. To be politically objective, we need to always start with the history and facts of whatever topic we are discussing. 

The overall conclusion I have come to is, the building of a border wall, or any type of extended barrier between the Mexico and US border, is an extremely complicated issue. We’re talking about an area that has existed cohesively together for centuries. The area surrounding the border is home to some of the continent’s most biologically diverse terrains and more than 1,500 native animal and plant species. The sudden appearance of a physical barrier that would cut off the natural movements of the animals in the area would have drastic effects on their survival and the natural functioning of the ecosystems surrounding them. 

In 2005 the Real ID Act gave the Dept. of Homeland Security authority to waive any laws, including the Endangered Species Act, that could slow the construction of a border wall. Just recently, with the declaration of a National Emergency at the border, plans have been made to replace 100 miles of fencing with 18-30 feet concrete barriers extending through the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. These areas are home to unique cactus breeds and some 275 wildlife species.

Construction has already begun in some areas of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, leaving a trail of destroyed wildlife in its wake. Big Bend National Park, known as “one of the last remaining wild corners of the United States” is also on the list for a 30-foot border wall. As of now, it appears the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge and the National Butterfly Center will remain free of any building. However, with the emergency declaration, this could change at any moment. 

Just as it is important to our principles to judge a topic based on its relationship with respect for human life, respecting nature and our environment is just as significant. Mother Nature thrives without humans, humans wouldn’t exist without Mother Nature. When we forget this, we do so at our own peril.        

With that said, the idea that well marked boundaries reduce conflict is a historically and universally accepted belief. In a sense, it’s an animalistic survival tactic. We mark our boundaries with national decrees, lines on a map, and fences around our yards. Even animals mark their boundaries. And when those boundaries are respected, it helps us to live cohesively together. When they are disrespected, conflict is sure to arise. 

It has been my experience that most people believe legal immigration is a good thing for our country. It extends back to the roots of our very beginning. Legal immigration respects the boundaries that have been agreed upon. I believe most people would like to enter our country this way. Unfortunately, the legal immigration system in America is an extremely flawed and confusing process. 

In a short and vague summary, immigration to the United States is based upon the following principles: the reunification of families, admitting immigrants with skills that are valuable to the U.S. economy, protecting refugees, and promoting diversity. The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA), the body of law governing current immigration policy, provides for an annual worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants. Broken down, that is 480,000 family sponsored immigrants, 140,000 employment-based immigrants, and 55,000 diversity immigrants. In recent years however, the US has granted about 1 million green cards annually, half of which are given to those already living in the United States. In addition to the numerical limits placed upon the various immigration preferences, the INA also places a limit on how many immigrants can come to the United States from any one country. Currently, no group of permanent immigrants (family-based and employment-based) from a single country can exceed 7% of the total amount of people immigrating to the United States in a single fiscal year.

What I’m about to say next should shock you, as of November 2018, there were 3.7 million people waiting in line abroad for a family-sponsored green card and 121,000 awaiting an employment based green card. As of April 2019, the wait for a US Citizen to sponsor adult, unmarried children was more than 7 years for most part of the world, with an astounding 12 years for relatives from the Philippines, and 21 years for those from Mexico.  

When you look at these numbers, it becomes obvious why someone might consider a different route. Just in February of 2019, 66,450 migrants crossing the border illegally were apprehended by US Border Patrol agents, the highest total for February in 12 years. The numbers of families and children crossing the border illegally or presenting themselves for asylum continues to increase at a steady rate. In fact, 65% of February’s apprehensions were categorized as families with children. And while illegal immigration from Mexico into the United States has been declining since 2008, the numbers of South American and other Non-Mexican immigrants have seen drastic spikes in increased apprehensions and those seeking asylum. 

The conclusion I have come to at this point, taking into consideration our #1 Principle of Respects Human Life, is that it would appear there is a crisis at our border and action is drastically needed to address it. People want to cross our border for many reasons. Most are doing so in search of a better life. And while they would like you to focus your attention on other reasons, our government’s inability to build a functioning immigration system is the biggest contributor to the problem. Building a border wall, in terms of Principle #1, gets a hard fail. It would not solve the crisis at the border, and it would have too drastic of an impact on the surrounding wildlife and ecosystems. If we could ever get our shit together and elect officials that actually want to work for their country’s best interest and not just those of their party or pockets, we could solve a vast majority of illegal border crossings, leaving our Border Patrol Agents more resources to address those with criminal motivations. The need for a multimillion-dollar concrete wall extending all 1,954 miles of the Mexico US border would become obsolete. 

With the building of a border wall getting a hard fail in terms ofRespects Human Life, or any type of life, we must next look at its relationship to our Constitution. Anyone who has studied at least a little history should know the US has always had a border problem, dating back to the original 13 colonies. Let’s be honest though, anytime you come across land that is already inhabited, claim it to be yours, participate in mass genocide, and then draw lines on a map saying which parts now belong to you, there’s going to be conflict. Some might think that sounds harsh. It’s meant to be, the truth can hurt. How can we judge our own country’s laws, the Constitution of the United States of America, without first taking a good honest look at how it came to be? 

The United States is a wonderful place to live. I thoroughly enjoy being an American and am thankful and appreciative of any and all sacrifices that have been made in order for me to live a life of privilege as one of its citizens. With that said, I refuse to conveniently forget or act ignorant to the truth behind that privilege. For all its glory, there are two facts that can never be denied… America was built on the bones of Native Americans and on the backs of African Slaves. 

These two facts are hard to swallow for most, but we must never forget them. They play into the very soul of who we are as Americans. They are at the root of almost every obstacle to peace within our country and ourselves, including the modern-day border crisis. Because long before there was a US Mexico border, there were vast territories of Native American tribal lands. When the US Mexico border was settled following the Mexican American War, it was done at the peril of those Native American tribes who saw their vast lands shrunk to small reservations, some that split the border line today. 

As far as the Constitution and the building of a border wall, the closest thing I could find was in Article 4 Section 4 that states: The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive, against domestic violence”  This article gives the Federal government the responsibility and authority to protect our States against invasions, foreign and domestic. However, to call illegal immigration an “invasion” would be a stretch. Especially when the largest part of blame for the problem stems from our government’s inability to do its job and create an actual functioning form of legal immigration. 

Our Founding Fathers never mentioned the need for a border wall, at least not that I could find. They were very outspoken on their beliefs in regard to immigration however. Many of them asserted their concerns publicly and routinely about the effects of indiscriminate mass immigration. James Madison believed the purpose of immigration was to “increase the wealth and strength of the community” by serving the interest of those who are already citizens. George Washington emphasized that immigrates should be absorbed into American Life so that, “by an intermixture with our people, they, or their descendants, get assimilated to our customs, measures, and laws.”    

As far as Principle #2: Abides by the Constitution, there isn’t really much for us to go off of. There is nothing in the constitution that gives the government authority to build a border wall, but there is also nothing that denies them the ability at the same time. Our Founding Fathers didn’t seem to consider it much of an issue in their day. I am however inclined to lean their way on the assimilation of immigrants into the “American Life”. At the same time though, I adamantly believe it’s the melting pot of all the different cultures you can find in America that sets it apart from the rest of the world. It’s what makes America great. What people from other countries, in my humble opinion, need to assimilate to, is our system of government as set forth in the Constitution of the United States. Abide by that and enjoy the freedom to live life the way you want. That’s the basis of the “American Dream”. Unfortunately, those freedoms are constantly being limited as the government continues to grow and assumes more power over our lives, that however is a topic for another post. 

Looking at Principle #3: Helps those who need it most, it’s pretty obvious where building a 1,954-mile concrete border wall is going to fall.. another hard fail. Between the arrival of families fleeing devastating poverty and violence, the discovery of human remains scattered along the border, and our failure to produce a functioning legal immigration system, it’s beyond obvious there is a crisis at our Southern border. What I am having a hard time buying into, is that building a concrete wall is somehow going to solve these issues. Because let’s be real honest, as long as there is an American demand for cheap labor and goods combined with devastating poverty to the south of our border, there is going to be mass amounts of legal and illegal immigration into the United States. Where there is a will, there is a way. And when people are desperate, they do desperate things. 

Disturbing the ecosystems and wildlife around the border could have more devastating effects beyond what we can imagine or plan for. And when 65% of those caught crossing illegally are families fleeing dangerous living situation and in search of a better life, building a concrete wall to stop them is definitely not helping them when they need it the most. Our government has been completely ineffective when it comes to stopping illegal immigration and they have been completely incompetent in producing a legal immigration system that is actually functionable. Our current political system thrives off the chaos its ineffectiveness has caused. It all comes back to the corruption of the two-party system and the stranglehold it has over our politics. 

As I mentioned before, there is a crisis at our Southern border. Something needs to be done. A concrete border wall is a possible solution that would have some effect on illegal immigration, but it would really only stop those who need help the most, not those with criminal or ill intent. And it definitely wouldn’t do anything to fix our legal immigration problem. It is a Band-Aid for a deep wound. It might have some immediate effects on stopping illegal immigration, but it won’t solve the problem and will only leave it to fester. If we want real solutions at our Southern border, we need to find a way to work together. We need to elect politicians that are able to work across party lines. We need to put an end to the modern-day political tribalism that is tearing us apart. The people trying to cross our border are not the ones to point the finger at. Our elected government officials that have been ineffective at solving the problem, administration after administration, are the culpable ones here. It’s past time to hold them accountable. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to share these thoughts and feelings with the world. Should you find yourself here, please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions as part of an open and respectful dialogue aimed at gaining a better understanding of ourselves and of one another.