People see undocumented immigration as a problem. Maybe to them it's a national security threat, or as an insult to American law, or they have the perception that the people crossing the border this way are violent criminals or drug dealers.
There's definitely nuggets of truth in all that, which solidifies the argument for proponents of the wall, but the majority of the data out there doesn't really back up these narratives.
You can make the argument that it's better to keep out everybody on the chance that some people might actually do grievous harm to the nation or people in it. So through that lens, it's worth the effort.
Personally, just doing a cost-benefit analysis will show it's a complete waste of money. A wall might give the illusion of security, and for a lot of people that's good enough, but it's basically just political theatre when you look at the numbers.
@TinyViolins It just seems like illegal immigration isn’t really accepted in other countries and I don’t understand why the US is expected to be so lenient on the issue. I’d love to illegally migrate to Europe but I know that probably wouldn’t work out.
@TinyViolins it’s not necessarily a physical barrier at a nation’ border, as much as it needs to be a function and responsibility of a government to maintain its nation’s security, sovereignty, and when it comes to who that government lets into their country; a sane, workable and humane immigration process.
@Aidan That's a fair point, but you also have to keep in mind that despite not being accepted, immigrants still come over illegally in those countries. Their policy of being tough on the issue hasn't worked out as expected.
It doesn't matter who we've had in the White House, how many more border agents we've hired, where we've detained or released caught migrants, which places government agents have raided, or what laws we place against employers, the immigrants keep coming. They're still coming into the US, into the EU, to Australia, to Russia, and to pretty every country that shares a border with another country.
People want to blame Biden as if Trump wasn't President in 2019, or all the other years immigrants crossed the border. To think a wall will solve the problem is incredibly naïve, especially when there's video out there of people squeezing through the gaps or going above or around existing wall segments with ease.
That said, I think we should know who these people are in order to make sure we're keeping out the dangerous ones. But wall or not, when people are desperate, they'll do what they gotta do in order to eat.
Ideally, we'd have a path to citizenship where people can work towards legal status by holding down a job and staying out of trouble, because that makes a lot more sense to me than pis.sing away billions on a wall that won't even stop it and policies that only serve as half-measures
Yeah I get that the wall isn’t necessarily the solution but most people, liberals and anarchist I guess, don’t want the wall because they think all illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay. I just don’t agree with that. @TinyViolins
@Aidan I don't really get why not? They've been staying here for generations already. The agriculture industry wouldn't survive at all without undocumented workers, so if you like fruits and veggies, thank illegal immigrants.
Decades of data collection show that year after year, undocumented immigrants commit crime at less than half the national average. The majority of economic models tracking the impact of illegal immigration show net positives across the board. There are net gains in terms of increased tax revenue, higher consumption of consumer goods, increased local GDP and local job growth, and their labor keeps costs and inflation low for the rest of us.
The only "welfare" benefits they cost us are free public school for their kids, free school lunch for their kids, disease immunization, and emergency medical services. And honestly, I can rest easy knowing more kids aren't going hungry and more people aren't dying of treatable conditions in the USA.
@Aidan They do pay taxes and they don't get anything for free besides school for their kids and life-or-death medical treatment. The majority of undocumented workers pay income and payroll taxes, as well as local, state, and sales taxes. They contribute billions towards social security alone that they'll never receive benefits for.
The studies are out there and they consistently come to the same conclusion. They're not getting a free ride. That's just a right-wing media narrative completely unsubstantiated by facts. I majored in economics and spent years studying this. The numbers hold true time and time again
It's sad that you're afraid to call an illegal alien an illegal alien. You're the type that would call a home invasion an incident of undocumented guest/guests. Grow a pair and stop being woke.
@JimBeam Easy there, tough guy. You might break a fingernail typing out all those comebacks. If I wanted to see idiots derailing a conversation with baseless memes, I'd be on Facebook instead of here.
When you feel like contributing to the conversation like an adult, I'll be more willing to waste time with you. Good luck finding some credible facts and figure to back up your claim, because I know it's not out there. Just don't expect to be taken seriously after you pollute the dialogue with your nonsense
@JimBeam You're the example they use when people are warned not to argue with idiots. You contribute nothing, you refuse to learn anything, and you argue things that are at best tangentially related to the topic at hand.
I'm done with you. You've earned your block. Now you're free to go be an idiot somewhere else
