For the past few days, we have been having class discussions in Chicano Studies about walls. We were first introduced to the topic of walls when we were posed the question in class, “Do walls divide?” and were instructed to go to a side of the classroom based on our stance and to justify our opinion on the matter. I immediately thought of the Mexico border wall and decided that walls divide people, but in some instances, such as homes or classrooms, the purpose of walls is not to divide but to protect.
When it comes to the wall the president of the United States is trying to build at the Mexico/US border, I find it completely unnecessary. Building a wall was one of the current president’s key promises while campaigning and he is currently trying to deliver on that promise despite 59% of Americans disagreeing with it. He claims that the purpose of the wall is to “protect” American citizens from “rapists and drug dealers” and people who “steal jobs”. America was a country built by immigrants who work tirelessly to make a living and keep our country functioning. Immigrants are a HUGE part of our workforce and make up a whopping 17.1% of it. To address the other reasoning he provided: why is the president singling an entire race by calling them “drug dealers and rapists”? Are all Mexican immigrants rapists and drug dealers? The majority of them are looking to seek refuge in a first world country where they are able to better their lives and work. I believe that there is no substantial reasoning behind building a wall and it seems like it is being used as a tool to divide two neighboring countries and make it clear that immigrants are not welcome in America. If the purpose of the wall was to protect Americans, then border security could be increased, more cameras could be installed, and more border security officers could be hired.
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AuthorHibah Shafi is a Senior at New Technology High School. Archives
May 2019
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