Commentary -- Wall, wall, who’s got the wall?

by Jeanette Strong -- On July 12, Vice-President Mike Pence visited an immigration detention center at the McAllen Border Patrol station in Texas. He admitted the conditions were terrible. Those with him said, “The stench was horrendous.” Anyone who is being honest knows that these asylum seekers are being treated worse than prisoners of war. While he was there, Pence trotted out the standard Republican claim, blaming the Democrats for the disgusting conditions and saying the situation could be fixed if Democrats just did their jobs. Before we start assigning blame, I want to remind everyone that in early 2018, President Trump and Congressional Republicans and Democrats met to try to fix the immigration problem. Trump said he would sign whatever was put in front of him. Democrats, working with Republicans, came up with a plan that would give Trump the entire $25 billion he wanted for his wall. What was Trump’s reaction to this very generous offer? He turned it down. If the wall is so important, and Trump wants it so much, and it’s so necessary for American security, why did Trump turn down the money? I know why, and I’ll let you think about that for a moment. In the meantime, the Democratic House has been passing immigration reform bills, which have then died in the Senate because Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who calls himself the “Grim Reaper,” refuses to let these bills come to a vote. The Democrats are trying to do their job and fix this problem; it’s the Republicans who are putting up all the roadblocks, and Trump is aiding and abetting them. Now, why did Trump refuse to accept the $25 billion he was offered for his wall? Because if Trump had accepted the money, he would have had to do something with it. He would have had to start building his wall. As they say, “Put up or shut up.” Trump claims the wall will stop drugs from coming in, stop crime and human trafficking, and stop all illegal immigration. He would have had to demonstrate that the wall was fixing all these problems, and of course it won’t. If Trump really thought the wall would work, he would have accepted the money and started construction right away. He could have shown everyone that he was right, that the wall was solving our immigration problems. He knows it won’t, and he would have been shown to be the liar he is, so he refused the money. If anyone has a better explanation for why he refused the $25 billion, I’m sure this paper would welcome your comments. The secondary reason, of course, is that this allows Trump to continue playing the victim, which he loves to do, and continue to blame the Democrats. He will never have to actually follow through on his promises, and he can say “they” are preventing him from keeping America safe. This border crisis was created by President Trump as a result of his refusal to assign enough immigration judges to hold hearings at the border, to decide who is granted asylum and who is deported; by his refusal to allow asylum seekers to come in through the legal Ports of Entry, which is their legal right under U.S. law, forcing thousands to come across at other points; and by Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy, forcibly separating families and putting thousands of children in camps away from their parents, creating a whole generation of orphans. This was not a policy of the Obama administration; Trump began implementing the practice, unofficially, in April 2017 and has continued it ever since. Besides voting on bills submitted by the Democrats, Republicans could start fixing this humanitarian crisis by expediting hearings for asylum seekers, by reuniting children with their families, and by following current laws, which Trump is not doing. And it would be nice if Trump and the so-called “pro-life” Republicans could begin exhibiting the tiniest smidgen of compassion for the most innocent victims, the children. But I won’t hold my breath. Commentary pieces are welcomed on a submittal basis and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or position of The Fallon Post. Comments are welcomed at [email protected].     Never miss a meeting or community event – keep an eye on the community calendar at https://www.thefallonpost.org/events/ If you like what we’re doing, please support our effort to provide local, independent news and contribute to The Fallon Post, your online news source for all things Fallon.