WALLED WORLD

PLACE OF BIRTH IS NOT A CHOICE

The world is witnessing a proliferation of border walls. There were fewer than five border walls globally when World War II ended. Now seventy-seven major border walls exist across the globe. These exist in Israel, Morocco, Iran, Turkey, India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Poland, Latvia, the US amongst other places. These walls are designed primarily to prevent illegal immigration, terrorism, and drug traffic, although walls have proven ineffective in this regard.

Border walls are expensive. The US-Mexico border wall costs between $16 million to $21 million per mile, taking into account expropriation of private property and construction. Maintenance costs are also high.

Early immigrants to the US had stemmed mostly from Europe. Since 1965 most immigrants come from Mexico and Latin America, with smaller numbers from Asia and the Middle East.

Tens of thousands of immigrants had entered the US from Mexico for decades. That number has dropped to all-time lows under the current administration. Trump has designated building the US southern border a “National Emergency,” and has militarized the border against the “invasion” of undocumented immigrants.

Yet the conditions driving immigration have not changed.