Authored by Paul Sperry, op-ed via The New York Post,
When charges of “racism” and “xenophobia” fail, Democrats’ fallback argument against President Trump’s proposed border wall is that it simply “won’t work,” so why waste billions building it? Tell that to the residents of El Paso, Texas.
Federal data show a far-less imposing wall than the one Trump envisions – a two-story corrugated metal fence first erected under the Bush administration – already has dramatically curtailed both illegal border crossings and crime in Texas’ sixth-largest city, which borders the high-crime Mexican city of Juarez.
In fact, the number of deportable illegal immigrants located by the US Border Patrol plummeted by more than 89 percent over the five-year period during which the controversial new fence was built, according to Homeland Security data reviewed by me. When the project first started in 2006, illegal crossings totaled 122,261, but by 2010, when the 131-mile fence was completed from one end of El Paso out into the New Mexico desert, immigrant crossings shrank to just 12,251.
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They hit a low of 9,678 in 2012, before slowly ticking back up to a total of 25,193 last year. But they’re still well below pre-fence levels, and the Border Patrol credits the fortified barrier dividing El Paso from Mexico for the reduction in illegal flows.
And crime abated with the reduced human traffic from Juarez, considered one of the most dangerous places in the world due to drug-cartel violence, helping El Paso become one of the safest large cities in America.
Before 2010, federal data show the border city was mired in violent crime and drug smuggling, thanks in large part to illicit activities spilling over from the Mexican side. Once the fence went up, however, things changed almost overnight. El Paso since then has consistently topped rankings for cities of 500,000 residents or more with low crime rates, based on FBI-collected statistics. The turnaround even caught the attention of former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and other Obama administration officials, who touted it as one of the nation’s safest cities while citing the beefed-up border security there.
Federal data illustrates just how remarkable the turnaround in crime has been since the fence was built. According to FBI tables, property crimes in El Paso have plunged more than 37 percent to 12,357 from their pre-fence peak of 19,702 a year, while violent crimes have dropped more than 6 percent to 2,682 from a peak of 2,861 a year.
The overall crime rate in El Paso continued to fall last year, prompting city leaders to trumpet the good news in a press release that noted, “Because El Paso is a border town, its low crime rate may surprise you.”
El Paso City Manager Tommy Gonzalez boasted that the city will “continue to lead our country in public safety.”
Another core promise made by Trump to justify constructing a massive wall spanning from Texas to California is that it will slow the flow of drugs coming across the border from Mexico.
“We need the wall for security. We need the wall for safety,” Trump said last week while answering questions about the sweeping new GOP immigration bill. “We need the wall for stopping the drugs from pouring in.”
On that score, El Paso already has exceeded expectations.
Drug smuggling along that border entry point has also fallen dramatically. In fact, since the fence was completed, the volume of marijuana and cocaine coming through El Paso and seized by Border Patrol agents has been cut in half.
The year before the wall was fully built in 2010, the volume of illegal drugs confiscated by the feds along the El Paso border hit 87,725 pounds. The year after, the amount of drug seizures plummeted to 43,783 pounds. Last year, they dropped even further to a total of 34,329, according to Border Patrol reports obtained by The Post.
All told, a legion of empirical evidence supports the idea a southern border wall could, in fact, work. There is also anecdotal evidence. In local press accounts, El Paso residents and business owners alike have praised the fence, citing it as an effective deterrent to both illegal crossings and crime.
Now Trump plans to build a possibly bigger deterrent.
The existing fence along the El Paso sector, which is made of a combination of corrugated steel and metal meshing, towers 21-feet high at some points and is already hard to climb. But the Trump wall, which will begin construction in El Paso, will be even taller and have multiple layers of security.
Still, Democratic leaders are adamantly opposed to it. They argue the $18 billion wall won’t work to keep out illegal immigrants and drugs, and will only be a massive waste of tax dollars.
“We think, frankly, the building of the wall, its cost is not justified either by its efficiency or effectiveness,” House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Thursday.
Even local Democrats are arguing with success.
“That wall in itself is a racist reaction to a racist myth that does not reflect the reality of this country at all,” said Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso).
The Dem Senator O’rourke said he saw a squirrel running away from the wall toward Canada and this proves the Wall is rayciss.
A republican adminastration builds a wall . The project once completed is successful in its purpose . A democratic administration sings the praises of the walls success . Now another republican administration proposes more wall construction in areas not protected and democrats cry fowl , it’s evil , it’s racist , it won’t work . Go Figure ?
This is one thing I detest most about these lying Liberal Progressive pieces of shit.A wall or ” a two story corrugated metal fence ” works every where else it has been used . Israel has completed a fence around most of the country. Terrorist attacks are down now in Israel .These fences are working and saving Jewish lives everyday.A fence would work and be easier to put up.
Truth is these fences work .They can stop an invasion .If only our leaders had the will to save our nation but I fear even Trump will fail us in this regard.
BB…………every Pres wants a 2nd term; Trump knows he will not be reelected unless he builds a Wall.
Or… maybe he figures that if he finishes the wall during his first term, we won’t need to give him a second term. If the wall’s not substantially underway by 2020 I won’t for anyone. I’ll just let Kamala Harris win. Of course if the Dems take over Congress in 2018, they’ll impeach Trump.
Trump can’t do anything that Congress won’t allow other than ordering laws enforced if the Court will allow it. He’s been doing that as much as he is able to within existing law.
It’s Congress failing that concerns me most, they like to pretend when election time comes around but after it passes they don’t do what they said they wanted to do.
A wall will work! The issue of immigration is the most important problem facing Trump and the American people. If he doesn’t do this, along with ending chain migration, the visa lottery and sending the DACA illegals home he can kiss his majority in the House and Senate goodby. Along with his re-election in ’20. Pretty simple really, git ‘er done or face impeachment in 2019. Democrats hate the American(White) people and want to replace us with third world shitholees. Our fate and the futures of our country, our sons and daughters and our grand kids are in his hands. I hope he doesn’t screw the pooch on this one!
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Workers constructing wall around the Obama family compound. That won’t work.
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Vatican wall. That won’t work.
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Mark Zuckerberg’s inviting San Francisco Estate and it’s wall. That won’t work.
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Indigenous workers scramble to please Master Zuckerberg by constructing wall around his Hawai’i estate. That won’t work.
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The entrance to one of Oprah’s numerous estates (total value 50 Billion dollars. Yes, 50 BILLION) screams “Ola!”
HSF… a really meaningful series of pictures depicting the us/them paradox.
I went to Bahamas in the 80s with a US drivers license all I needed to go there and come back. Same for Cancun in the early 90s. What makes me think a full passport might be needed now?
What the hell happened to the country. Oh, yeah… I think I know.
After WWII, the National Security Act created the CIA and gave it control of several operations which seemed to call out for secretive funding. By the time the 70s rolled around, there was a nifty little importation business going on in Mena, Arkansas. People tend to roll their eyes, thinking all that could not possibly be true.
It is true.
And the money the CIA managed to stash away must have helped its director, George H.W. Bush, tremendously both financially and politically. It may be why he was so interested in a New World Order.
Within a year or so of taking office, Clinton managed to alter some restrictions formerly placed on military weapons sales that had to be approved through the state department. That really came in handy when Hillary was Secretary of State and Chelsea was running the foundation or whatever it is she does.
Anyway, I suppose the world works this way and always has, but that justice for all really means “Just Us” and not the rest of us at all.
Nonsense. No causality has been ‘proven’. San Diego is likewise a major US city with a low crime rate. The reduction in illegal apprehension and criminality are more likely linked to narco activities shifting, availability of relocated factories or any number of other causes. A simple Google search offers much more plausible explanations to anyone willing to think for themselves. For example https://www.texastribune.org/2016/02/23/border-communities-have-lower-crime-rates/
The sheer idiocy of the wall idea, as well as its blatant hypocrisy, is best laid out here: https://fredoneverything.org/the-wall-the-sound-and-the-fury-and-not-much-else/ where Reed uses actual numbers ( gasp ! ) to make the case ( real proof works like that, don’t cha know ).
If the idea of a wall is such a bad thing why do so many of the rich and famous have one surrounding their home, swimming pool and/or Vatican, Whitehouse, etc? John
First of all Fort Hay, let me give you the LTA award (Lying Troll Asshole). In the first article, increased law enforcement was credited with the reduction of crime, a wall like the one near EL Paso certainly wouldn’t increase the crime rate. Going further with your logic, the nation would have to increase law enforcement to those levels in every high crime area in the country to achieve the lower crime rates cited in the article. That move will cost a hellva lot more than 21 billion.
The second article was just another old man asking technical questions that should be asked about the construction specs of the wall. The wall cannot be uniform due to differing soil types along the border. The prototypes are just starting points. Believe me there will be modifications.
The wall works at known crossing points, but we would be better serve by fining and imprisoning CEOs of companies that knowingly hire illegal aliens.
While the wall outside of El Paso certainly has been the driving factor in reducing crime in that area, drugs, illegals and bad people are still going around that portion of fortifications. It’s a long border.
Texans were the victims of over 700,000 violent crimes committed by illegals in the past 9(?) years.
I want to see those crime & illegal stats when there is truly border security across the whole border.