Trump’s recent national emergency announcement is an atrocious abuse of power. Not only did he himself say during the Q&A portion of his Rose Garden announcement that he “didn’t need to do this,” he gave proof to the non-existent emergency by spending the entire weekend at his resort in Florida, golfing and relaxing. Some national emergency, huh?
On social media I see so much division, so many lies, and so much genuine and willful ignorance combined with outright racism from the pockets of people who actually think we need a wall, that a wall solves any of the problems Trump claims it solves, and those who truly believe that illegals “take your jobs.” It is all so infuriating and disheartening.
Let’s look at the problems Trump claims a wall will solve and explore WHY a wall will NOT stop those problems. I will also address some common sense solutions that would be a much better use of the BILLIONS being proposed for the unneeded wall.
First, drugs. Ah yes, drugs are pouring in through the border per Trump. Really? The Coast Guard estimates that 95% of illegal drugs arrive via waterways. China is shipping Fentanyl to the U.S. via the postal service. Many drugs actually come through existing LEGAL PORTS OF ENTRY! A wall will stop exactly none of those transport methods.
As with anything in government, there is rarely a single solution. It is more like a game of Jenga. When one piece moves, it affects other pieces as well. Since the problem is multi-layered, so too must be the solution. So what are some ways to stop this, since a wall clearly won’t? First, I don’t believe we will ever entirely stop the illegal drug trade. However, there are many measures the U.S. could take to significantly decrease demand of drugs. First, the mental health and drug rehabilitation services need enhanced and covered for all drug addicts. In order to help them maintain sobriety, more halfway houses need to be available and a jobs program that caters to people with addiction in their past. Recovering addicts need access to therapy and a way to rebuild their lives and stay off drugs. The government could provide employers tax incentives to hire recovering addicts. Provide transportation grants out of the Drug Control budget to cities that need to improve public transportation and to provide free and low-cost transportation passes to recovering addicts with jobs, so they are able to stay employed as well as attend required therapy. Laws can be enacted ensuring recovering addicts stay in therapy to receive job assistance and transportation passes. Link the addicts with local charities where they can provide service and realize their own self-worth through helping others. These are just a few remedies for those who have already been drug addicts.
What can be done to keep people off of drugs? Appropriate more money in the form of grants for organizations such as Girl and Boy Scouts, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, YMCAs, and local Parks and Recreation programs. Provide money to schools that have ended their sports, arts, and music programs due to budget cuts. Enable schools and youth focused organizations to obtain the funding needed to implement more programs for all youth, regardless of income level, so that kids have a positive social environment in which to engage and play sports, learn new skills, socialize, and have trusted adult role models. When young people have activities after school and during the summer that are engaging and stimulating, they won’t seek out drugs to find that.
Ensuring more young people have access to counseling in school and out is another reason our mental health care needs expanded as well. There are too many children in our country that have bad home lives, are homeless, in poverty, abused, neglected, etc. Those traumas need to be identified and taken care of immediately and possibly long-term. Schools need to have the budgets to hire more counselors. Insurance coverage needs to include comprehensive mental health coverage that does not bankrupt families. Funding can come from the Department of Education, the Drug Control budget, and the Medicaid budget.
Drugs aren’t the only thing Trump states a wall will stop. He has made extremely provocative statements about human trafficking and how the victims are transported into the United States. However, human trafficking experts state that his descriptions are false. Most victims are promised a better life, or that they will reunite with family, and often travel willingly. It is only after they arrive that they realize they are being used and sold as slaves. As such, a wall will not stop, nor even reduce human trafficking.
Of course, the things Trump rails about the most are illegal immigrants and caravans. First, there have been annual caravans taking place for years. This is nothing new, it is just something Trump is choosing to amplify and turn into a problem when it isn’t. It is required by U.S. law that people seeking asylum present themselves at legal ports of entry in order to make those requests. So these people are doing exactly what the law requires. As for actual illegal immigration from South America, statistics show it has been on the decline for at least a decade! Something that is declining is NOT a problem.
The United States has held itself up to the world as a shining example of success, as a place where others should want to be if they want success and happiness and to pursue the unicorn of the “American dream.” Yet, here this administration is, stripping the U.S. of this reputation by telling people fleeing from oppression, violence, starvation, rape, murder, and other atrocities, that they can’t come here. The United States, by Trump, is systematically being stripped from its standing in the world. Building a wall, engaging in hatred of people from other countries, enabling a liar; all of these things make America regressive, ignorant, and demonstrate to the world we are not worthy of being the humanitarian leader, the shining beacon of hope and promise we once claimed to be.
The Maddened Ranter 