The controversy over the border wall is all about optics, charges of racism, immorality, etc., but it really comes down to President Trump: He can't be allowed to have a victory, so he must be opposed no matter the logic. As many political observers have already identified, Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, and other Democrats were for some form of wall or fence before Trump's election.
This is about the fact that Trump made it front and center, these Democrats can't stand him, and they are making the political fight. They don't want him to be able to run in 2020 and say that he fulfilled a campaign promise. And they don't want him to be right. So if anyone is making this political, it's the people on the left
Shifting the focus of the issue though, some claim a wall wouldn't work anyway. Border walls have been proven successful in other countries though.
Around the world, countries have come to embrace walls or fences along their borders in order to deter illegal immigration or to secure their borders from terrorism. The list is long and growing: Algeria, Bangladesh, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen.
There is a border fence between China and Tajikistan. Egypt has built a border wall with Gaza, and, like Israel, continues to destroy tunnels beneath its border with Gaza. In 2015, Slovenia built a fence specifically to slow the tide of illegal migrants, which it now plans to expand. Iran is building a border barrier with Pakistan to curb drug smuggling.
Iraq has now built a fence along its border with Syria, and France is building a wall like the U.S., specifically to control illegal immigration. Lithuania has built a barrier along one of its borders with Russia. Estonia, is too. Norway, too, has built a border barrier along its frontier with Russia in order to stem illegal immigration. Part of this is motivated by fear of Russia but, especially in the case of Norway, controlling illegal immigration is also a factor.
Mexico may even build a southern wall to prevent another Guatemalan caravan if the migrants are prevented from entering the U.S. Evidently the fine people of Tijuana don't want the problem either.
Secretly, liberals understand the necessity of walls. Five years ago, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat and second-generation Mexican-American, demanded an exception to zoning laws so he could build a 6-foot-tall wall around his official residence. Also Hillary Clinton's family home in Chappaqua, New York, is surrounded by a high security fence complete with a guardhouse.
It's the same as liberal gun ownership logic. Rosie O'Donnell wants your guns confiscated, but hires armed bodyguards for herself. Do as I say, not as I do.
Walls do have a history of doing their job and, indeed, they are the tried-and-true go-to strategy almost everywhere that security or illegal migration is a concern. A border wall isn't immoral or analogous to the Berlin Wall nor should it be seen in the same light. After all, there's a huge difference between a system designed to keep people in — a lock on the door — and a system designed to keep people out — the door itself.
Reportedly, the White House is ready to deal. Even though federal government workers will eventually receive back pay, the White House doesn't want to see them suffer. The questions for congressional Democrats are simple: Do they really hate President Trump more than they love border security? Do they care more about illegal immigrants than American citizens? Only time will tell.
I'm sick of the politics and optics dominating a national security issue. This crisis is now a circus, and a circus has two ingredients. Right? Clowns and children. The children are the politicians. The clowns are the media. And they just indulge each other. So it's never-ending. And you're never going to get a solution as long as you let the media and their business model dominate this issue.