Brief #111 – Immigration
By Kathryn Baron
Trump’s Final Attempts at a Border Wall
December 15,2020
Policy Summary
President Trump has barely kept his campaign promise of building a wall along the US Southern Border but has successfully constructed 415 miles of border wall. The Administration is expected to reach 450 miles by the end of the year, working at insane speeds. Allegedly, an illegal dirt road was built to speed up the operation and prevent any disruption in the flow of construction.
Additionally, two whistleblowers accused contractors building Trump’s border wall of smuggling armed Mexican security teams into the US to guard construction sites as Trump attempts to finish his border wall before leaving office.
Analysis
The motive behind building this wall remains to deter drug traffickers, human smugglers, and criminal organizations despite proven statistics showing a substantial amount of drugs trafficked into the US are through legal ports of entry. This frantic effort to make “good” on the Trump Administration’s principal promise is a desperate attempt to cling to its xenophobic values and maintain the support of Trump’s bigoted support base.
Engagement Resources
- The National Immigration Law Center: an organization that exclusively dedicates itself to defending and furthering the rights of low income immigrants and strives to educate decision makers on the impacts and effects of their policies on this overlooked part of the population.
- Border Network for Human Rights: network to engage education, organization and participation of border communities to defend human rights and work towards a society where everyone is equal in rights and dignity.
- The ACLU: a non-profit with a longstanding commitment to preserving and protecting the individual rights and liberties the Constitution and US laws guarantee all its citizens. You can also donate monthly to counter Trump’s attacks on people’s rights. Recently, the ACLU has filed a lawsuit challenging the separation of families at the border.
- Center for Disease Control: the CDC provides updated information surrounding COVID-19 and the US responses