“Build the wall”. Only one thing comes to mind with these words, and that is the hateful speeches of then presidential candidate Donald Trump. These words then being chanted right back at him by thousands in hate filled rallies. The wall obviously referring to the proposed barrier to stop Mexicans from illegally entering the US. Even though a wall has not been built yet, the idea of the wall divides many.
The Mexico-US border is 3145km long, so you can imagine it would be hard to build a wall that long. It is also the most crossed border in the world with 350 million documented crossings each year. Currently, just over a third (1050km) of the border is covered by some kind of wall, so Billions would have to be spent in order to cover the rest of it. (Gomez, 2017)
Mexicans travel to America as a result of the Mexican economy. In pursuit of better job opportunities and standard of life. The Mexican peso’s instability making the idea of earning dollars and sending them back to family in Mexico an attractive solution. (Pew Research Center, 2009)
This want of a better life has however been greeted with racism from the likes of Trump labelling them as being drug dealers and rapists (Phillips, 2017). The Americans who bought into the idea of the wall believe they have the right to American resources and jobs over those not born in America.
This wall divides people. As the border separates the 2 countries and groups of people physically, the racism, hatred and selfishness behind the idea of this divides the people psychologically. Creating a border between Mexicans who are only there to work, and the Americans that don’t want them to. The fact that Trump was voted into power only normalises this kind of racism even more. (Lee Jr., 2019)
Fellow Americans have also been split by this wall. There are those with different political views that stand up against this wall. People who didn’t want to see Trump in power. This has created a border as relationships have been ruined by the politics behind this wall. Family members, friends and colleagues have been villainised for their views on the topic. (Brownstein, 2019)
With Trump’s first and hopefully only Presidential term coming to a close, will the wall even be built? With questions being asked if it is worth the billions it would cost. Reports also suggesting that the undocumented Mexicans may be a result of them overstaying their visas rather than simply sneaking into the country (Chappell, 2019). The wall may never be built but it will still leave behind the invisible wall that Trump’s ideas created.
References
Brownstein, R., 2019. Why Trump’s border wall is not just a wall. [Online]
Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/22/politics/border-wall-divide-opinion-change-red-blue-republicans-democrats/index.html
[Accessed 14 March 2019].
Chappell, C., 2019. Most illegal immigration
doesn’t come through the Mexican border where Trump wants to build his wall. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/08/despite-trumps-claims-most-illegal-immigration-is-not-at-the-southern-border.html
[Accessed 14 March 2019].
Gomez, A., 2017. Trump’s border wall: Could he
really do it?. [Online]
Available at: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/24/donald-trump-border-wall-southwest-border-mexico/97023098/
[Accessed 14 March 2019].
Lee Jr., B., 2019. This Isn’t a Border Wall: It’s a
Monument to White Supremacy. [Online]
Available at: https://www.citylab.com/perspective/2019/01/trump-border-wall-confederate-monuments-white-supremacy/580513/
[Accessed 14 March 2019].
Pew Research Center, 2009. Most Mexicans See Better
Life in U.S. – One-In-Three Would Migrate. [Online]
Available at: http://www.pewglobal.org/2009/09/23/most-mexicans-see-better-life-in-us-one-in-three-would-migrate/
[Accessed 14 March 2019].
Phillips, A., 2017. ‘They’re rapists.’ President
Trump’s campaign launch speech two years later, annotated. [Online]
Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/06/16/theyre-rapists-presidents-trump-campaign-launch-speech-two-years-later-annotated/?utm_term=.42754046cf92
[Accessed 14 March 2019].
Beyond The Border 