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The Badger Herald

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The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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Point Counterpoint: America is safe again at the southern border under Trump

America has always been one of the most immigration-friendly countries in the world — it will remain that way
Point+Counterpoint%3A+America+is+safe+again+at+the+southern+border+under+Trump
Greta Zimmermann

Prior to the 2016 election, if you told someone that the President of the United States would be signing his name on a newly constructed southern border wall, it would have been a joke. But President Donald Trump was doing this in Otay Mesa, California just weeks ago. With the President’s pledge to protect our homeland first and foremost, the safety of the American people is flourishing.

We are seeing unprecedented leadership from the President on policies concerning the southern border. Just look at the numbers: the White House has secured $1.6 billion in border wall funding and there was a 10% increase in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security. Since 2017, the brave men and women who wear the ICE uniform have seized more than 1.6 million pounds of narcotics at the U.S./Mexico border. Additionally, ICE made more than 105,000 criminal arrests and removed more than 145,000 criminal illegal immigrants, according to acting ICE Director Matthew Albence. These numbers show precisely how we are making America safe again.

People forget that America has the single most generous immigration system in the world. We continue to lead the way when it comes to financial and resettlement options for refugees. The U.S. expects to receive over 368,000 new refugees and asylum claims in 2020. But with the fallacious nature of the mainstream media, most Americans would never imagine this to be true.

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There is a lot of dispute regarding the conditions of detention facilities on the southern border. In July 2019, an outcry formed surrounding treatment of illegal immigrants that were minors at ICE detention facilities. We invite you to take it from an ICE agent himself who works in these detention facilities everyday. In a video released on July 3, 2019 by the Arizona U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Chief Patrol Agent of Tucson Sector, Roy Villareal, gave all Americans a crystal clear look at the truth with footage inside a facility. While it’s easy to make acquisitions about the conditions at the border, we ought to at least listen to the men and women who put their lives on the line everyday there.

Additionally, a few weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security reinstated a program that delays the deportation of illegal immigrants that are sick at detention centers. This program allows immigrants to get healthy before returning to their home countries. This demonstrates how President Trump truly has a heart for the migrants stuck at the border, but he wants them to re-enter into our country the lawful way. It is extremely unfair to the millions of Americans who immigrated to the U.S. legally when thousands of illegal immigrants attempt to sneak across our southern border illegally.

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While Congressional Democrats have been charading with the Russian hoax, the Kavanaugh hearings and now the Ukrainian sham, President Trump has been getting actual results for the American people. He has laid the groundwork for nearly 500 miles of border wall to be built and he anticipates this construction to be completed by next year. The wall will stop the flow of dangerous criminals, harmful narcotics and sex traffickers across our border. This construction includes all-weather roads, lighting, enforcement cameras, and other related technology to create a complete enforcement zone.

It’s clear that President Trump is focused on ensuring the safety of all Americans. He will continue to work on fixing our immigration issues even when democrats refuse to assist. The United States is and will always be one of the most legal-immigrant-friendly nations in the world. Our President believes in protecting that ideal and so should you.

Ryan Christens ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in marketing and business management. He is also the chair of the College Republicans of UW-Madison. Alec Bukowiec ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in marketing with a digital studies certificate. He is also the communications director of the College Republicans of UW-Madison.

Read about the College Democrats’ position on immigration here

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