{"id":13010,"date":"2023-08-04T18:59:03","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T18:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=13010"},"modified":"2023-08-10T15:05:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T15:05:00","slug":"13010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=13010","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s border wall isn\u2019t about illegal immigration or drugs. So what is it for?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Alex Gonzalez<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trumps is very unlikely to get even few miles of\u00a0 his\u201cbeautiful Wall\u201d built, b<\/em>ut he will campaign on it anyway because it\u2019s good politics for his base.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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When Donald Trump took office, fencing and other barriers stood along\n 654\u2009miles of the 1,900-mile border with Mexico. Trump promised his \nsupporters a \u201cbeautiful\u201d 2000-miles of new fence.  However the \nadministration has only replaced or upgraded a tenth of that existing \nnetwork \u2014 without building of new walls. But Trump is determined to \ncampaign on his signature 2016 \u201cWall\u201d promise in time for the 2020 \nelections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Trump administration still will have to fight court battles<\/a>\n with private land owners to take much of the land where the wall would \nbe built. Other impediments include objections arising from the wall\u2019s \nenvironmental impact; opposition by congressional Democrats, who are in \nno mood to appropriate the $5 billion the White House is demanding for \nthe wall in the current fiscal year; and, most recently, a federal court order blocking the administration\u2019s plan to divert $3.6 billion<\/a> for wall construction from funds approved by Congress for projects on military bases at home and overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And thought federal judges have stymied all attempts by Trump to build the wall, for some \u201cconservative\u201d groups, erecting a physical wall<\/a>\n is paramount for their political movement to stay noticeable, even if \nit is illegal and self-funded and it\u2019s only 1-miles long. So the \u201cWall\u201d \nis more more about the politcal symbolism than any real policy \nsolutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, the wall is a manifestation for a more permanent division \nbetween the U.S. and Mexico. The wall creates an illusion of \nseparateness; it creates the illusion of a fix for a flood Mexican and \nHispanic immigrants. The wall makes a stark statement that Trump and \nRepublicans don\u2019t want the U.S and Mexico become to close. Thus, it\u2019s \nworth bearing in mind the real meaning of the wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Half of the undocumented immigrants (44%) currently in the U.S. are \nover-stays that came legally via a U.S Airport or crossed the border \nlegally. Similarly, for the past three years, all data available, \nincluding Trump own DHS stats, shows that most illegal immigration is \ndue to Asian and Indians overstays, not the US-Mexico border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recent report<\/a> by Center for Migration Studies shows that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

For the past 10 years, the primary mode of entry to \nthe undocumented population has been to overstay temporary visas. This \nreport provides estimates of the number of noncitizens who overstayed \ntemporary visas and those who entered without inspection (EWIs) in 2016 \nby the top five countries of origin.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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However, Trump and Republicans in Congress never publicly talk about \nthese facts and only refer to illegal Immigration as a U.S.-Mexico \nborder problem because they know that is what gets the base morbidly \nexcited about \u201cprotecting the border\u201d with a 2000-miles big wall, \nconcertina wire and images of active Military personnel at the border. \nAnd these is  the real image of border Trump wants to used for his re \nelection campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Trump supporters and \u201cRepublicans\u201d who will continues pushing for a\n wall, addressing the real current source of illegal immigration \u2013 \noverstays from Asia and India  coming legally through U.S. airports \u2013  \nis not important; building a wall to stop Mexicans and Hispanics from \ncoming here is more important because is a stronger political and \ncultural images than actually fixing \u201cillegal\u201d immigration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is really the \u201cWall\u201d about<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wall has not practical purpose in matters of National Security or\n stopping drugs from coming in the country and it is a waste of \ntaxpayers\u2019 money. The wall is not a conservative policy proposal. In \nreality, the wall is cultural anti-Mexico fever promoted by Trump, tea \nparty groups, and culturalists like Pat Buchanan who for decades have \npainted Mexico and Mexican-Americans in the U.S. as the principal \nculprits of the decline of white-ness and Western culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump tends to use the Israeli-Palestinian \u201cwall\u201d argument in front \nof religious groups like Evangelicals to promote the notion that Latinos\n are not of Western European stock with no Christian values. This is the\n message often used by many culturalists like Ann Coulter and Rush \nLimbaugh to portray Latino immigrants and their culture as non-western, \nan \u201coutside\u201d culture that is similar to militant Muslims like \nPalestinians. And since they are not one of \u201cus\u201d \u2013 white or \nnon-Westerner \u2013 it is easier to legitimately create laws and erect walls\n that target the \u201coutside\u201d group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a tactic used since the early days of mass Immigration to \ndemonize immigrant Jews, and other non-Protestant groups. The demonizing\n of Hispanic groups, lately, as not being Western and Christians have \noften played out well in \u201cConservative\u201d Religious circles that support \nIsrael based on their Biblical beliefs. Frequently they used the \nU.S.-Mexico border as example of how things are in Israel by portraying \nLatin immigrants as Muslim militant Palestinians and the Israel as the \ndefenders American values. However, as it is often the case, well \n\u2013intentioned, ill-informed, religious Christian voters fall into a trap \nand consciously, or unconsciously, promote the wrong message under the \nmantel of \u201cgood Christian values\u201d to de-legitimate and de-westernize \ngroup for political purposes. And this is what the wall is. A symbol of \nwhat Trump base feels will save white American from brown Latino and \nMexican Immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an entire movement within religious Conservative groups who \nwant to portray Latino immigrants as though they are outsiders and not \nChristian; the wall is physical permanent division; and  this would make\n it easier to separate them from \u2018us,\u201d from Western culture Christianity\n and link them to militant Muslim organization that promote \nanti-immigrant laws by scaring good-intention religious folks, but in \nreality Latino Immigrant that cross the U.S.\u2013Mexico border aren\u2019t likely\n to be criminals. But they do tend to be Bible-loving Christians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Even before Trump, tea partiers like Ted Cruz were already using the concept a \u201cwall\u201d as an anti-Mexico political view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, during the  CNN GOP debate when ted Cruz was running for President,   Cruz stated that:<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe frontline with ISIS isn\u2019t just in Iraq and Syria, it\u2019s also \nin Kennedy airport and the Rio Grande. Now we\u2019ve seen what happened in \nSan Bernardino. When you\u2019re letting people in, when the FBI can\u2019t vet \nthem, it puts American citizens at risk.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An this is not the first time Cruz links immigrants who have crossed \nthe border have lived in the U.S. for a long time to terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bret Stephens from WSJ<\/em><\/a>\n succinctly pointed out about claims Cruz made at the Heritage \nFoundation suggesting that the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino was \nlinked to the Rio Grande river \u2013 Hispanic immigrants. But Cruz\u2019s claims \nabout national security and terrorism  are not about Hispanic coming \nfrom Mexico swinging the rivers as much as it about  Cruz deceiving  his\n followers by arguing that terrorists are swimming the Rio Grande river \nfrom Mexico to possibly kill Americans. Bret Stephens writes that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cruz has thoughts on these and other important matters, but first\n he wants you to know that he intends to finish the wall along the \nborder with Mexico. And triple the border patrol. And quadruple the \nnumber of aircraft patrolling the border.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? Because \u201cwhen terrorists can simply swim across the Rio Grande, we are daring them to make the journey.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the wall has become  part of \u201cculture wars\u201d and emblematic of \nanti-Hispanic propaganda within the party, and it has nothing to do with\n fixing immigration policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For trump and supporters, the chief objective is to promote the idea \nthat Latino Immigrants are not Christians like us. Therefore,  laws like\n 187, SB1070  a physical barrier \u2013 even if it\u2019s un-American- is an \naccepted method to protect \u201cus,\u201d \u2013 white people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump clearly regards resentment against migrants as the common, \nbinding purpose of the Republican Party, so  Republicans have realized \nthat showing an anti-Mexico approach is more effective to energize the \nbase than actually fixing \u201cillegal Immigration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True, many conservative Latinos in the southwest, especially Mexican-Americans, have felt the \u201cheat,\u201d bigotry and anti-Mexican sentiment that has been promoted by Trump it\u2019s a distorted manifestation of Republican values; so they hope that Trump would be defeated in 2020 and that things will go back to normal. But that  is a false assumption. Trumpism will stay even after Trump leaves the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Gonzalez is a political Analyst, Founder of Latino Public Policy Foundation (LPPF), and Political Director for Latinos Ready To Vote. Comments to vote@latinosreadytovote.com or <\/em>@AlexGonzTXCA<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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by Alex Gonzalez Trumps is very unlikely to get even few miles of  his“beautiful Wall” built, but he will campaign on it anyway because it’s good politics for his base. When Donald Trump took office, […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,65,72],"tags":[86,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-13010","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-slider","8":"category-culture","9":"category-lrtv-articles","10":"tag-culture","11":"tag-immigration"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13010"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13719,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13010\/revisions\/13719"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}