Trump's wall might be obsolete before it's built

lowell sun ^ | may 6 | peter lucas

[luke1825]

No sooner will the next president be inaugurated than the observance of the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I will take place. It will also be the anniversary of the publication of the secret Zimmerman Telegram that helped push Congress and President Woodrow Wilson to declare war on Germany on April 6, 1917.

Not many people today know much, or even care, about the Zimmerman Telegram and how it changed the course of American history. World War I is probably not even mentioned in high school these days.

[kabar]

You obviously have not read the article, which is really what we are talking about on this thread. The writer makes the salient point that we have already been invaded by Mexico to such an extent that a wall may be like closing the barn door after the horses got out. Specifically, he says,

So the German plan to get Mexico to launch a German-backed invasion of the United States to restore its lost land ended in a fiasco. One hundred years later, the Mexicans, thanks to Obama, have succeeded. And they haven't fired a shot.

[Jack Hammer]

Okay, okay, I get it.

Sheesh.

[grania]

How did they become citizens without learning English? Except for the Puerto Rican loophole, I thought English was required.

Why do we need ANY immigration or refugees etc? What the US needs is a "time out". I'm not buying into the thought that US citizens can't be trained and productive for all jobs. How many seats in our tax-exempt colleges and universities are going to foreigners instead of qualified US students? How many US citizens would be more eligible for real work if we provided vocational training instead of college with massive debt for students who don't want to and aren't qualified for that endeavor?

[chaosagent]

Having actual consequences for being here illegally will be cheaper and more effective against illegal aliens from all nations. By consequences I mean NEGATIVE consequences, not section 8 housing, free health care, etc. Simply showing a resolve to enforce our laws will get rid of the vast majority, most of whom do not walk across a border. A wall is a fine idea but it is an inanimate object easier to point to on TV and avoids blaming the true source of the problems - lack of political resolve to enforce our laws.

_________________________________________________________
I’ve posted this before. Here’s how to get them to ‘self-deport.’

1. Mandate the use of E-Verify for all jobs.

2. If an employer is caught hiring illegals -
a. $ 1,000 fine per illegal first offense.
b. $ 50,000 fine per illegal second offense.
c. $100,000 and 5 years in jail per illegal third offense.

3. Mandate the use of E-Verify for all housing, sales and rentals.

4. If an seller/rentor is caught dealing with illegals -
a. $ 1,000 fine per illegal first offense.
b. $ 50,000 fine per illegal second offense.
c. $100,000 and 5 years in jail per illegal third offense.

5. With nowhere to work and nowhere to live, they will leave.

Make it so that the earlier they leave, the earlier they can get on the SMALL list to come back legally.

[aquila48]

Truly a dumb article with no relation to the headline.

Is he implying that because there are already millions of illegal Mexicans and South Americans here, no more will come, wall or not, and therefore the wall is worthless?

[kabar]

How did they become citizens without learning English? Except for the Puerto Rican loophole, I thought English was required.

Required for some, not all. There is an age wavier for the elderly. Children are And there is no English requirement for a green card holder. There are around 15 million green card holders at any one time. Many elect not to become citizens. They get everything but the vote. The Dems are franctically trying to get them to apply for naturalization before the election. Clinton/Gore did the same thing in 1996. Almost 2 million got citizenship during that effort.

Why do we need ANY immigration or refugees etc? What the US needs is a "time out".

e

Agree. We need a moratorium. However, there will still be some coming in as spouses and children along with some other categories like investor visas that lead to green cards and citizenship.

How many seats in our tax-exempt colleges and universities are going to foreigners instead of qualified US students?

Many of our colleges couldn't exist without foreign students. That is the dirty little secret. It is not so much that Americans are being denied access to college generally because of foreign students. These students do take the place of Americans at certain universities, public and private. It may be counter-intuitive, but the number of US students eligible/interested in college is declining as our demography changes. As minorities make up more and more of the K-12 students, the interest and eligibility are declining. Hispanics and blacks have the highest school drop out rates. As a result, the demand for college goes down among a growing portion of the domestic student cohort. And foreign students pay full or out of state tuition rates. Plus, the feds also provide some aid to them.

Add to this the growing costs of college and increased student debt, and you have the recipe for more foreign students to fill the vacuum. It is why academia supports the Dems. They don't want the pipeline shut off. And we have the GOPe saying that we should be stapling green cards to their diplomas, which is in addition to the 1.1 million who come in every year. These students take jobs away from Americans as well.

How many US citizens would be more eligible for real work if we provided vocational training instead of college with massive debt for students who don't want to and aren't qualified for that endeavor?

Plenty. But much of the skilled and unskilled blue collar jobs are being filled by immigrants, legal and illegal. Immigrants are taking American jobs and depressing wages. We have a surplus of labor.

[Forward the Light Brigade]

The wall is more symbol than fact—but its a needed symbol to show that there is a border and the nation id defended.

[kabar]

Since Obama took office the working-age, foreign born population has increase by 5.79 million and the working-age, native-born population has increased by more than 12.41 million. In that same period of time foreign-born people gained 4.08 million jobs while native-born people gained 6.55 million jobs.

[BagCamAddict]

Mexico has a wall at their SOUTHERN border.

Build. The. Wall.

(with embedded high-sensitivity earthquake detectors underground to detect tunneling)

[3D-JOY]

I agree...what do you say besides criminal invaders?

I could use a new term for them besides illegal immigrants.

[3D-JOY]

I have lived through many enemies plans...”we will bury you”...”destroy us from the inside” etc.

Somehow I did not think of Mexico in the same “long range Plan” that we have learned to understand over the years.

I guess we all want things done fast...Yesterday? New thinking for me.

Look at the pressure on Trump...do it all in 100 days!!!

[SuperLuminal]

Don't need a dang wall.

Supposedly there are hundreds-of-thousands of old land mines around that would be far more cost effective and efficient.