Trump’s wall: But would it actually work?
1,661 views · Published 29 June 2018 · 6:17 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: ScIQ · 2018 · Science & Technology
Trump’s Border Wall: politically divisive, expensive to build, difficult to maintain, screws over wildlife habitat, and is just - well, mean. BUT aside from all those things, there’s an important question - would Donald Trump’s wall... actually work? Would it stop illegal Mexican immigrants? And would it stop the drugs and crime they so famously bring. Well, you might be surprised by what the data says! Look - I support the right for any nation to, “decide who comes into their country, and the manner in which they come”. One important reason is that, every year, hundreds of people will die trying to cross the US border. According to US customs & border protection, over 7,000 people have already died in crossing attempts in the last 20 years. That is a significant tragedy that everyone - from every party - should be genuinely trying to solve in whichever way is most effective. But Trump’s Wall is not meant to save the lives of illegal immigrants - it’s meant to stop them from coming in here. So, does the wall do that? Well, yes! In a way. Statistics show that - if your objective is to decrease the number of illegal land crossings from Mexico, then a wall is great! Increased Border Security does work at deterring illegal land migration. Just one piece of evidence for this, research from Roberts & Whitley showed that back in 2005, 95% of wannabe Mexican immigrants who were apprehended said they’d try again. But in 2006, Congress approved the Secure Fence Act, mandating nearly 700 miles of fencing on the border - a bill that had notably bipartisan support, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. By 2015, the number of Mexicans who said they’d try to cross the border again had dropped to 49%. Now, scientists don’t like bandying about the term ‘statistically significant’, but as a scientist, 95% down to 49% is a bloody statistically significant result. Can’t deny that a fence works as a deterrent against Mexicans illegally crossing the border. There! I said it. See - my issue is - that when you look at all the data - Mexicans crossing the border illegally, it’s well - not actually a bad thing for the US. Okay okay, bare with me here. Because Illegal Mexican immigrants make way better US residents than the residents we already have residing here. Firstly, I know some people think Mexican immigrants bring Crime: but the statistics show the exact opposite. Research from the Conservative Cato institute shows that - 1.53 percent of native-born Americans are incarcerated, compared with 0.85 percent of undocumented immigrants and 0.47 percent of legal immigrants. So basically if you’re good quality enough to get here, you’re exactly the type of person the US should be encouraging to stay. An analysis of FBI statistics by the WIlson Center show that from 2011 to 2015, 22 out of 23 U.S. counties along the border had violent-crime rates lower than the national average for similar counties” - a statistic that’s been consistently been repeated in numerous studies [source] - so you might actually want more illegal immigrants in your neighborhood. And if you’re worried about terrorism, worry no more! According to Trump’s own State Department, “There has never been a successful terrorist attack on the United States involving the crossing of the U.S.-Mexico border.” And it probably goes without saying that all of the 9/11 terrorists, entered on tourist or student visas, not from Mexico. Secondly, but would the wall stop drugs? - yes - drugs do cross the US-Mexico land border, we’ve all seen Benecio Del Toro in Traffic, and yes, a wall may help with that. But the vast percentage of drugs coming into the country over the land border is tiny! 80% comes in by sea, and the small portion that comes via land usually goes through a “ port of entry (POEs) using a passenger vehicle or tractor trailers”. Camera + Editor: Brandon Palmieri Produced by Jayde Lovell and Bec Susan Gill. ScIQ is a partner of the The Young Turks Network. Enquiries: [email protected] SOURCES http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/Collaboration/Interagency/Narco-Submarines.pdf https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/why-wall-wont-work https://www.cato.org/cato-journal/fall-2017/illegal-immigration-outcomes-us-southern-border https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N55s0K2HhUY https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-mexico-border-woes https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/revolving-door-no-more-statistical-profile-mexican-adults-repatriated-united-states http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/11/03/size-of-u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-workforce-stable-after-the-great-recession/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/27/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/ https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2016/272234.htm https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/us/politics/trump-immigration-borders-family-separation.html https://www.dea.gov/docs/2015%20NDTA%20Report.pdf
