by Sandy » Tue Aug 18, 2015 3:55 pm
Ah, yes, the Naco wall. That's about 40 miles from my hometown. Granted, it has reduced illegal crossings from Naco and through the Cochise County town of Bisbee by quite a bit. But as the article notes, it just causes those intent on crossing to go around it at either end, and pushes them into other areas of the county. Going east, the wall stops about 10 miles west of the twin cities of Douglas, AZ and Agua Prieta, Sonora, and becomes a chain link fence with barbed wire full of holes where those coming across use wire cutters. Or they just go beyond Douglas, into the open ranch country, where they are less likely to get caught.
Given the cost of that particular stretch of wall, I'd love to hear from Mr. Trump how his cut taxes for the wealthiest of the wealthy plan would be able to finance the construction of such a wall, and the video equipment and patrol officers necessary to make it effective.
Growing up, it was not unusual, while out riding my bike, to run into illegals walking down the stretch of old US 80 that bordered our neighborhood. I can think of many occasions when I would pass the garden hose over the back fence to allow them to get a drink, and wash off, take them a sandwich or something else to eat. I had a part time job in high school working on the ranch of the grandfather of one of my friends, and once a week, after they'd cut and bailed the hay, we'd deliver and unload it somewhere, and there was always an illegal or two going along to help, or working somewhere on the ranch. Most of them came up here and worked to support their families back home, partly because they could make more in a week on a ranch than they could in a month in a factory owned by an American company exploiting the cheap labor. The Republican approach, to "just stop" illegal immigration, doesn't address the root problems which includes working with Mexico to resolve the problems that cause their citizens to come across the border, looking for a better life for them and their families. We seem much less interested in investing in helping Mexico resolve its drug crime problem, and stabilize its employment, than we are in funneling billions to Israel, which has helped us, how?