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If Donald Trump builds his wall, it’ll probably succeed to some extent. Every obstacle keeps some people from overcoming it.
My main problem with the wall is that it embodies the hurdles that our immigration system puts up to keep people out. Entering this country should be easier, not harder.
Keep out criminals, except “political” criminals like those jailed for protesting dictatorships. Keep out people with infectious disease. Keep out people too physically or mentally damaged to survive on their own (unless their friends or relatives will support them).
But let others be free to come here and make a better life. That’s the American Dream, and it makes our country better.
My other problem with the wall is the political message that it sends. From the Berlin Wall to the barrier between Israel and the West Bank, walls or fences or whatever you call them say, “Outsiders scare us.”
Sometimes it’s sensible to be scared. Israel built a wall because it had a legitimate fear of terrorists, and the wall seems to have reduced terrorism, though it’s also had terrible effects.
But America doesn’t have Israel’s problems. We’re stronger and more secure. We don’t need to fear immigrants, and we don’t need a wall.