The United States was once a nation that took in immigrants from all over the world and established a national “melting pot”. With over 3.3 million square feet of land (in the contiguous United States), this nation was the perfect receptacle for those individuals who no longer wished to stay in their homeland. Eventually, this welcome was limited to individuals who had a specific purpose for coming to America, such as a job or marriage to an American. Today, there are many people who aren’t official, legal residents of the United States, but who live here because they find the living situation in their homeland to be intolerable. The question one must ask is this: where does it end? At what point should be borders be shut down and a wall constructed to keep people out? The United States is at a point where it simply cannot handle more immigrants, and it has become time to close the borders and construct a wall that will keep immigrants out until the economy can support additional citizens.
Many nations have constructed walls over the years (Germany and China are both famous for their now-inactive walls) to keep their citizens from leaving, but none have constructed barriers to keep unwanted immigrants out. If the United States were to build a border wall, it would be the first nation to do so. This is not to say that other nations would not follow. England also has a problem with illegal immigration; these immigrants come primarily from Africa and India. It is reasonable to say that if the United States constructs a border, England might be next.
The main benefit of such a border wall would be to allow the United States to recoup financially and socially before allowing anyone else into the country. States such as California and Arizona are inundated with illegal immigrants from Mexico; it has become such a problem that the schools are overrun with the children of these immigrants. Census-takers cannot take an accurate count of the number of people in a particular area (when the number rises, the county receives additional funds for schools, police, hospitals, etc.) because illegal immigrants tend to hide for fear of being deported. Therefore, classrooms are crowded and teachers must deal with a number of students who do not speak English, and whose parents do not get involved in the education process. In addition to schools, county hospitals are crowded as well. These hospitals take anyone, regardless of ability to pay, and this is where the immigrants end up. Finally, immigrants cannot work legally, so their income is not taxed even though they are receiving services that are paid for with tax dollars.
Opponents of this idea will recall that America was intended to take in those people who found their homelands to be unlivable. They will bring up the fact that the land was stolen from the Native Americans; therefore, none of us have a right to be here. This point of view, however, is wrong. The United States is one of the greatest nations on Earth, providing both for its citizens and for other countries when they are in need. This simply can’t continue unless the population is allowed to balance itself out through natural births and deaths. The country will no longer be able to help anyone if it doesn’t find a solution to its economical and social problems. Once the schools and hospitals are less crowded and everyone living in the United States is accounted for, it will be time to open the borders once again.
In conclusion, when one seeks to solve a problem, they begin at the source – an individual who cannot afford to support a family does not take vacations and buy new cars. Similarly, until the United States can provide a quality homeland for its residents, it simply cannot take in immigrants.
