'Build the Wall and Crime Will Fall'

The government shutdown for 34 days is costing 800,000 workers to work without pay. According to out of touch politicians this was just a bi-product and necessary turmoil to solve a national “crisis.” President Trump created this “crisis” by using language like "I believe drugs, large percentages of which come through the southern border, will be cut by a number that nobody will believe. So let me be very clear. We really have no choice but to build a powerful wall or steel barrier." Or saying that MS-13 is crossing the border raping and ravaging the people of the United States. 🇺🇸

This is far from the truth. When you turn on the news, you don’t see people who crossed the border committing school shootings, you see Americans. When you turn on the news you don’t see people crossing the border marching with tiki torches instilling hate and inequality, you see Americans. So if there is any national “crisis” it is the one caused by his very own base. This wall is not a matter of national security it is to soothe the ignorance and insecurities of his base. The average voter that voted for Donald Trump is a white male with a high school education or less. This is important because they fear illegal immigrants coming across the border stealing jobs from them which would lead them to not being able to provide for their families. Preying on his base using provocative language like, "I am calling on the Congress to finally close the deadly loopholes that have allowed MS-13, and other criminals, to break into our country." Not everyone who crosses the border legally or illegally are gang members, rapists, or terrorists. Just in filing fees for a green card, an immigrant can spend more than $1,000 to try to become a permanent legal resident. If they hire an immigration attorney, it could cost them thousands of dollars to be a legal resident. Majority of the people looking to come to the United States of America are looking for opportunity and are fleeing either life-threatening situations and poverty. Where are they going to get thousands of dollars from? Do they not deserve an opportunity because they are poor? The American Dream and free enterprise are why these people are willing to risk their lives and their children's lives to have a real chance at life. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" These very words are on The Statue of Liberty. These words are more American than we will ever be because Americans think about self and not the country nor the moral vision that this country was founded upon.

At what cost must we continue to stray away from our American values so the president can soothe his base? How many more shutdowns and days without pay must the American people suffer for an ineffective $5 billion down payment? Was the wall a national "crisis" September 1, 2016, when the president tweeted, "Mexico will pay for the wall!" El Paso, Texas was ranked number seven in 2018 as the safest large city in America. So, is there really a crisis? If we start denying people their "unalienable rights" of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" where will it end? The American way of life cannot and will not thrive from hate nor should a symbol of hate be erected from one side of America towards Mexico. We should find a way to resolve this issue humanely and with that, I close with these words from Roy T. Bennett “We are all different. Don’t judge, understand instead.”