The Issue of Immigration Reforms and Restrictions

The issue of immigration reforms and restrictions have been of debate within families of non-native Americans just as they are in the `public at large. It has resulted in intertwining arguments with interrelated concepts making it difficult to distinguish one thought of the debate from another. The election of President Trump in 2016 rekindled the heated argument, even more, especially considering his administration’s agenda of constructing a wall at the America-Mexico border to control illegal immigration. Is the border barrier projects a feasible idea that would result in significant advantages that overshadow the disadvantages of the wall from the socio-economic and security perspectives? While some people suggest that the barrier wall will have significant positive implications for the integrity, interests, and well-being of citizens of the USA, the project is seemingly unrealistic and potentially harmful to Americans.

The cost of building the physical barrier between the USA and Mexico is a significant economic burden to the people of America. The estimated length of the American-Mexican border is about 1933 miles (Colin and Scott). It is estimated that the cost of building the 30-feet high wall would cost approximately $3.9 to $16 million per mile, with the value varying with the nature of the terrain and the design of the wall (Colin and Scott). This is a significant burden to the budget of the USA, especially considering that the USA had already invested $2.3 billion in constructing the already existing barrier between the two countries alone, excluding the annual maintenance cost approximating $500 million. Although President Trump proposed that Mexico would contribute towards the funding of the wall, President Pena Nieto of Mexico has refuted the plans of footing the bill (Burnett). Additionally, President Trump’s proposal to institute policies including a 20% tax imposition on imports from Mexico to fund the wall will eventually transfer the costs to American taxpayers.

Moreover, the undesirable social consequences of the physical barrier wall and the associated border enforcement will be borne by individuals and families of Americans staying in USA cities and populations in Mexico. The border enforcement will result in social impacts such as forced individual and family separations and the associated anxiety, fear and psychological disturbances (Casey and Watkins). The wall and its embodiment will hinder international migration. It will force millions of American individuals who have their family roots across the border to move across the tight procedural restrictions. It is approximated that at least 15 million households in America are mixed-status immigrant families, comprising a mixture of undocumented immigrants and lawful residents (Colin and Scott). Some of their kin are across the border in Mexico. For such families and communities, the nightmare of having some of their relatives deported and having an alienating physical barrier dramatically affects their social wellbeing and could be regarded as an abuse of human rights.

Implementation of the policy will also come with environmental costs. The wall will impact negatively on the conservation efforts and plans by the governments of the USA and Mexico. Along the long border, there exist 111 threatened species, 108 types of migratory fowls, and several secured marshlands (Maguire). Each of these natural species relies on travel passageways between the two countries. Free movement of the animals during natural disasters such as floods and droughts will be significantly affected by the border wall. Additionally, the design of the proposed wall will require enormous amounts of concrete and cement. Making of cement contributes to up to 5% of carbon released into the atmosphere worldwide. The move will therefore indirectly lead to the foiling of the existing efforts of controlling global warming. Also, Mexican Engineers have raised concerns about flooding at the border resulting from the project (Burnett). Construction of the wall on some of the plain land at the border will form a dam that obstructs rainwater during the tentorial rain season causing flooding and the associated repercussions in the settlement areas within the borders.

The construction of the America-Mexico border wall will have substantial consequences on the bilateral relations between the USA and Mexico. While President Trump is highly supportive of the initiative, President Pena Nieto opposes it and even refuted the proposal that his country should contribute financially in constructing the wall (Burnett). After President Trump was elected to office, the Mexican president even canceled his visit to the White House after a standoff on Twitter about the issue of the wall (Ingold, Whiteaker, and Rojanasakul). The tension between the two countries has even ignited conversations on reconsidering the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was facilitating the exchange of products amounting to about $584 billion annually as by 2017 (Ingold, Whiteaker, and Rojanasakul). In the year 2015, about 26% of the Mexican gross domestic product (GDP) was courtesy of its trade with the USA. More so, Mexican nationals in the USA contributed an extra 2% in 2015 regarding remittances. Interrupting the bilateral ties will, therefore, impact significantly in the economy of the two countries. Americans will suffer the shortage of goods and services imported from Mexico while Mexicans will bear the loss of export revenue.

Even though there are numerous undesirable consequences of the construction of the America-Mexico border wall, some experts believe that most of the given consequences are vague and baseless. Some economists have argued that the cost of building the wall is far much small compared to the revenue that the USA loses on illegal immigrants. As of 2016, there were approximately 11.3 million illegal immigrants to the USA, many of who snuck across the poorly managed border (Krogstad, Passel, and Cohn). Most of them are jobless or generate very little income that is collectively insignificant to the economy of the USA. Even so, a significant portion of the little income that they generate is transferred back to their relatives in Mexico. They take up job opportunities that could be offered to legal Americans, leaving Americans unemployed and underemployed (Ingold, Whiteaker, and Rojanasakul). They depend on America’s social amenities. Some of them smuggle in hard drugs that have adverse health effects thereby destroying the labor pool in Americas’ youth. The experts argue that these economic implications outweigh the cost of the building the wall to prevent the illegal immigration.

Moreover, some authorities outline several social and environmental reasons as to why the wall should be built. The millions of illegal immigrants are enrolled in America’s learning institutions and other social service facilities. As a result, most of the public facilities have been overcrowded leading to poor service delivery (Ingold, Whiteaker, and Rojanasakul). A significant number of the immigrants have contributed to insecurity and criminal offenses in the USA, especially the millions who are unemployed. Some of them are members of drug cartels who smuggle hard drugs into the USA, therefore, contributing to moral decadence and other social implications of drug abuse among American youths. Others have argued that the Illegal immigration comes with devastating environmental pollution due to the overpopulation of slums occupied by illegal immigrants in the USA’s cities around the border (Maguire).

Finally, some experts have disapproved some of the mentioned effects of constructing the wall on the bilateral ties between the USA and Mexico. Bilateral relationships are meant for mutual benefits between two nations. However, the fact that Mexico has failed to control its citizens from illegally migrating to the USA, American’s benefits from the bilateral ties is coupled with the agony of illegal immigrants (Colin and Scott). Additionally, controlling transfer of goods and services across the USA-Mexico border by effective border control measures, including using the permanent wall will be an effective mechanism of abolishing illegal import and exports of products between the two countries. Hence, it will be beneficial to Americans and Mexicans as well. Therefore, the wall is not against Mexico, but against Illegal immigration. There shouldn’t be any threat to the bilateral relationship.

In conclusion, the permanent wall between America and Mexico is bound to have both valuable and disastrous implications. The fact that Illegal immigration is costing Americans considerably cannot be rubbished. There is an urgent need to stop the illegal migration. However, can the physical barrier efficiently control unlawful movement? Can the border be controlled is a better way that does not threaten the economy of the USA, the social wellbeing of Americans, the environment and the mutual connection between the USA and Mexico? Can there be a control measure that is mutually agreeable and supported by the two countries? At the moment, the cons of constructing the wall seemingly outweigh the pros. A better way of managing illegal immigration should be implemented instead.

Works Cited

Burnett, John. Mexico Worries That A New Border Wall Will Worsen Flooding. 25 April 2017. https://www.npr.org/2017/04/25/525383494/trump-s-proposed-u-s-mexico-border-wall-may-violate-1970-treaty. 11 April 2018.

Casey, Edward S and Mary Watkins. Up against the wall: Re-imagining the US-Mexico border. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2014. Document.

Colin, Deeds and Whiteford Scott. “The Social and Economic Costs Of Trump’s Wall.”Voices of Mexico 102 (2017): 24-28. Doc.

Ingold, David, et al. Bloomberg Politics. 13 February 2017. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-trump-mexico-wall/will-this-impact-mexico-relations/. 4 April 2018.

Krogstad, Jens Manuel, Jeffrey S Passel and D’vera Cohn. Pew Research Center. 27 April 2017. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/27/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/. 13 April 2018.

Maguire, Patrick. “Can Trump Build a Wall? The Administrative Obstacle to the Border Wall.”Columbia Journal of Environental Law (2018): 1-7. Doc.