A wall, like...like... the Maginot Line! The problem I have with "a wall" is that historically walls have been very bad at keeping people out, as they are static.
Part of the problem with this discussion, imo, is that there are two different questions here: 1) What do we want to do, and 2) how do we do it?
I think we can mostly agree that we don't want opened borders and are against illegal immigration (hey, lets really go out on a limb and say we're also against lawlessness). But then that begs the question of what are we trying to do and what are our priorities? Even our great big bloated government need to set priorities as even the Feds don't have limitless resources. Are we trying to stop terrorists from crossing our border with Mexico, or is our priority getting treatment in our local ER's without being hindered by illegal immigrants being treated for a cold?
So what are our priorities? Are they: a) Stopping islam-o-fascists from entering our country. b) Defending our social infastructure (like hospitals and schools and parks) from free-riding Illegals. c) Defending our culture from an aggressive foreign invasion. d) Fighting lawlessness. e) Add your own priority here. Now, this is my ranking in order of importance. Each of these is important to me, but the most important is a) Stopping islam-o-fascists from entering our country. We've got 10 -20 million illegals here right now, so we need to separate the sheep from the wolves. One really quick way to do that is to have all the sheep (voluntarily) stand up (and get fingerprinted). Will this have unintended consequences, you betcha! But lets not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The President's plan is good, but far from perfect. But it is by far the most workable plan I've seen.
A wall, like...like... the Maginot Line! The problem I have with "a wall" is that historically walls have been very bad at keeping people out, as they are static. Hyperbole, Life. Granted, walls are static. So is our national border. The Maginot line lacked solid anchor points and was simply bypassed through the Ardennes. Very few of the fortifications actually fell in armed combat. Most were abandoned by their garrisons after being bypassed. Lack of planning and lack of resolve defeated the Maginot Line. Sound familiar?
Unlike the Maginot Line, We have the Pacific Ocean for an anchor point on one end and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. Same deal with the northern border. There is no "express lane" around the end. Walls work well for some purposes, poorly for others. Every prison out there has walls as do banks, military bases, etc. percentage-wise, how often do those walls fail? Our invaders are hardly the Wehrmacht with air, mechanized and armored units, nor are they Ghengis Kahn's hordes. They're uneducated and unwashed, largely unskilled peasants. Even the french could have held off an invasion like that. Sadly, we don't seem to able to.
One really quick way to do that is to have all the sheep (voluntarily) stand up (and get fingerprinted). Will this have unintended consequences, you betcha!
you mean like they "voluntarily" wait for legal entrance; "voluntarily" learn english, pay their own medical bills, get auto insurance? Like they "voluntarily" leave their drugs at home, avoid gang affiliations, don't drink and drive, comply with ANY other law of our nation? Is any of this sinking in? And the gang members and drug dealers, they too will "voluntarily" submit to these standards? How about those with criminal records? Has it occurred to you that EVERY ONE OF THESE PEOPLE is a criminal? That's a great idea! Why don't we apply this standard at home to our home-grown criminals?!. OK, all you gang-bangers and drug dealers. Come in "voluntarily" and be fingerprinted....(waits....)