Border Crossing Research Paper

The issue of unauthorized immigration through Southwest border crossing has been debated for years, however, it has recently been brought to the spotlight with the presidential election of Donald Trump, as he persistently promises the public that he will stop the flow of illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central American countries by securing the borders with a massive wall. Most Trump supporters believe that immigration is a “big problem” because of the negative views they hold against undocumented immigrants. Some of these views include that undocumented immigrants take American jobs from citizens, are less hardworking and honest, or commit serious crimes (Doherty). A significant percentage of of these Trump supporters are in support of

However, by 2004, only 9 miles were built. In a second attempt, Congress passed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 that required doubled-layered fencing, military at the border, technology, and Homeland Security to construct fencing that was at least 700 miles long where it was “practical and effective”. Today, much of the physical barrier at the border is not even considered a fence. Many areas consist of “vehicle barriers”, which are very ineffective in preventing people from crossing, and areas of fencing that are easily climbable (FAIR). Seeing that today’s “wall” is not adequate enough to secure the borders, Trump promises to build a wall sufficient enough to keep people from entering the U.S. However, some of the obstacles that the Trump administration faces are costs, lawsuits from states like California, and concerns from environmentalists. The cost of the wall has varied over the past year, ranging from $8 billion to $40 billion, and is uncertain as to how it will be paid for

According to Vanda Felbab-Brown, senior fellow at the Brookings institution, drug trade will not be impacted by physical barriers such as Trump’s proposed wall since drugs smuggled into the U.S. are no longer carried by illegal immigrants entering the country from the border. Rather, drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines “come through the 52 legal ports of entry on the border”, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (Felbab-Brown). There are many ways drugs can be secretly brought in through these legal ports. Passenger vehicles, tractor trailers, cargo trains, or ultralight aircrafts are all examples of how drugs can be transported through legal ports of entry Eugene Kiely, journalist form factcheck.org, states. They are often concealed in hidden compartments or disguised as legal goods. Kiely also discusses another method of transport that has recently occured due to advances in technology: “Drones are small, quiet, can fly at high altitudes over a distance of several miles and, depending on their size, are generally capable of carrying 5 to 10 pounds of drugs” (Kiely). Drugs are not only being illegally imported on land and though the air, but also underground. Tunnels have been used to transport drugs into