The Border Fence: Is it Feasible? Absolutely!

Since it seems nobody in Congress or the U.S. Senate wants to come forward with a solution to the “Border Fence” issue, I thought I would speak up. I’ve read and heard almost every argument as to why it can and can’t be done, and why it should and shouldn’t be done. But being the person I am, I’ll tell you what I think and just take the flak for it; I’m not worrying about being re-elected.

First, before I begin, I don’t want to hear from anyone how racist this is. This has nothing to do with racism. It has to do with national security, taxes, terrorism and a little opinion thrown in for good measure.

The thought of building a fence or wall from San Diego to Brownsville is a daunting one. Map Quest says it is 1554 miles, but that’s driving on the roads. Google Earth shows 1500 miles if you follow the border, so for the sake of argument, let’s use 1500 miles as our length of a fence or wall. That’s a heck of a long wall! If you are to drive that distance, it would take you about 22 hours, depending on if you pack a lunch and stop for Mother Nature. To build a wall of that size could take who knows how long!! Or will it?

My idea for a wall would be a masonry structure, 25-30 feet high, approximately 20’ thick, using 8x8x16 blocks, surrounding a solid core of concrete. Yes, this sounds like the Great Wall of China, and just think, we could see it from the moon when we go back there. If we put lights on it, it would look cool at night. If you add a 10-foot high electrified fence on top of it, which could light the lights. It could also be an indicator that when someone gets fried for trying to climb over or cut through it, the lights in that section would go out, indicating an attempted breach.  WOW! Do I sound like an isolationist or what? No, not isolation, security.

We know the Mexican government will do nothing to stop the flow of Mexican citizens into the U.S. They have said so, and former President Vincente Fox says it’s OUR fault for this flood of Mexicans to this country. Mexico gets too much money from Mexicans sending money from the U.S. back to Mexico! But I’m not just talking about Mexican citizens. I’m talking about the flood of non-Mexicans that cross our border on a daily basis. Try crossing into Mexico from the southern border, you’ll get shot. They have armed guards guarding their southern border. If we put armed guards on our southern border, suddenly we’re fascists, isolationists and murderers.

OK, back to building the wall. We know there are about 20 million illegal aliens in this country; many of them are indeed from Mexico. Having spent a number of years in the construction industry, I have worked with many masonry crews that were entirely Hispanic. They are excellent masons, and they are efficient and hard workers. I don’t know how many illegal aliens are now employed as masons, but if you chose several of the larger masonry companies in southwest, and gave them a contract to build the wall, and hire all of the illegal aliens they could find and start building this wall, it could be finished far faster than leaving it in the hands of the government and going through the bidding process, and all the red tape involved in having the government pay for a project. By now you’re thinking I’m smoking something that has been smuggled across the border, but let’s break this down into some simple tasks.

First, find the contractors who will come forward and undertake the task. They have to understand that anyone they hire, must be an illegal alien, and that anyone who submits an application is subject to a background check and make sure they’re not hiring a bunch of criminals. Now, again, so that I am not called a racist, if someone from Egypt, Ireland, Spain, Italy, or any other country is here illegally, they can sign up too. Once it has been established that they are here illegally, they get a temporary work permit, and they get paid minimum wage. In addition, so that no one is late to work, they can live in “tent cities” close to the work area, and can be given 3 meals a day, also provided by the contractor. (They only need to ask Sheriff Joe Arpaio about how to go about this process.)

Since they are living close by, they can get back to their tent right after work for supper and English lessons, and, I’m sure the ACLU would be glad to volunteer some lawyers to go down and sit in the heat and talk to the workers about how to go about legally immigrating to this country, and even assist them with the paperwork. During this timeframe, anyone who is found to be a criminal because of forged documents to get the job would immediately be handed over to I.C.E. By the time the wall is finished being built, many of the workers would already have their initial paperwork completed and the wait time to get their Immigration visas, would be much less. If, during the course of the construction of the wall, someone quits, then off to I.C.E they go to be processed for deportation.

There was a time in this country when the government stepped up and created jobs, by having things that needed to be done. It was called the depression. It was hard work, building dams on the Colorado, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and other bridges and roads that were constructed during that time. People died because of poor working conditions and lack of safety equipment. Those times are gone. Safety equipment is the best ever, working conditions can be made safely very easily, and the workers can be cared for by a staffed health center, even if it is in a tent, or portable trailer. Again, there are enough doctors, healthcare workers, students that would volunteer their time to make sure these workers are cared for properly.

This is a simple idea, and it CAN be done. 

Now comes the folks who are going to say that building any wall or fence is being an isolationist, or paranoid about Mexicans, or is racist. I’m none of them. I’m a hard working American who lives in Arizona, and I am tired of paying taxes that support the hospitals in the area that are forced to give care to people who not only can’t (and won’t) pay for healthcare, but they are here illegally, and having their babies here, and now they can’t be deported because of the “anchor baby” policy. Now there is a policy that needs to be changed, but again, that’s another argument for another day. I’m tired of paying taxes for paying for anything that has to do with someone being here illegally.  And don’t think about what this wall will cost, think of what it will save. It’s a simple theory, simple to implement, simple to pay for, and in the long run, simplify the life of people who want to come here legally.

Lastly, I’ll say it again, as soon as someone smuggles a 1,000 pounds of highly explosive ordinance across the border instead of pot or cocaine, and lights up any number of targets that could devastate this country, and bring much of it to a standstill for years, then someone in the government will get off the backsides of their Armani suits and do something. It is time for the government and citizens to become proactive, instead of reactive.