Illegals, Smugglers Forced Into the Sea as Border Wall Proves Effective on Land
Walls work.
Whether it’s the walls of your house, the walls surrounding a business, or walls along the border of a country, it should be a common-sense conclusion that walls are an effective means of protection and defense.
Reasonable human beings have realized this for hundreds, if not thousands, of years — just look at the Great Wall of China or any number of medieval fortresses. Even the simple fact that we live in enclosed dwellings with locks on the doors is a testament to the fact that physical barriers deter unauthorized entry.
Despite literally centuries of evidence in favor of walls, the American left would have you believe that border walls between the United States and Mexico are both ineffective and immoral.
That assertion is belied by reality: In southern California, the addition of miles of new border wall since 2017 has led to a striking increase in the number of smugglers and illegal immigrants arrested as they attempt to enter the country, as reported by the Washington Examiner.
On Thursday, the Trump administration celebrated the completion of 400 miles of U.S.-Mexico border wall, according to KFMB-TV. Border Patrol’s San Diego region, which stretches 60 miles, has added 53 miles of border wall (including duplicate fencing) over the past few years, the majority of which was funded by the Trump administration.
The walls are made from steel fence posts filled with concrete and rebar, reach up to 10 feet below ground, and stand 18 to 30 feet high. A portion of the wall in this area also stretches approximately 100 feet into the ocean.
The new walls — significantly larger and sturdier than earlier versions — make it more difficult to dig shallow tunnels across the border or to enter the U.S. by water. While individuals can still swim or boat across the border, the wall into the ocean makes it more difficult.
More importantly, the enhanced physical barriers funnel illegal immigrants and smugglers to the more vulnerable areas of the border, where border patrol agents lie in wait.
This has dramatically increased the number of arrests. According to the Examiner, in the San Diego region in the 2020 fiscal year (which ran from Oct. 1, 2019, to Sept. 30, 2020), border patrol agents on jet skis and boats made 302 arrests — up from 195 in fiscal year 2019, and just 88 in 2015.
Across the country, arrests of illegal immigrants and smugglers rose to 1,271 in 2020, up from 662 in 2019 and 219 in 2015.
Clearly, walls work. If they don’t deter border jumpers and smugglers, they at least help limit their spread so that border patrol can intercede.
This is a win, both for President Trump and for America as a whole.
As a country, we have a right — even a duty — to know who and what is entering our borders.
Those who excuse illegal immigration often contend that those entering the country illegally are just well-intentioned foreigners seeking a better life.
That may be true for many illegal immigrants, but certainly not all. For instance, Santa Barbara County authorities earlier this year arrested 33 people aboard a boat containing more than 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine, according to the Ventura County Star.
It is unquestionably good for America and Americans that authorities confiscated those drugs before they were distributed into the country.
Moreover, an immigrant’s intentions are largely irrelevant to the conversation about illegal immigration. Regardless of why someone is coming to America, there is a right (legal) and wrong (illegal) way to get here.
Many Democrats claim conservatives are anti-immigrant. That’s simply not true. Most conservatives happily welcome legal immigrants.
Additionally, legal immigration is more beneficial to the immigrants Democrats say are just seeking a shot at a better life, because it allows those immigrants to fully participate in American society. Illegal immigration, on the other hand, often forces immigrants to live in the shadows.
Hopefully, the success seen so far from the new barriers in San Diego continues to be seen across the country.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
