US-Mexico Border Fence

Introduction

The U.S. government, to stop illegal migration, will build a border wall. The Mexican and U.S. government should be focusing on the Border Wall Plan; however, they are politicizing presidential campaigns and national security, ignoring the migrants. Migrants are crossing the border illegally to the U.S. following the American Dream of a well-paying job that will provide support to their families in Mexico. Furthermore the Border Wall Plan will negatively affect local commerce and field workers who cross the border daily by making port of entries more difficult to cross. The Border Wall Plan is not the right solution to stop illegal migration to the U.S. The Border Wall would not be an impediment for migrants crossing the border illegally. Instead, illegals will look for other dangerous ways, risking their lives, to cross the border to the United States.

Discussion

In fact, Grupo Beta, an association that assists migrants in border cities, constantly observes how migrants risk their lives when crossing the border illegally to the U.S. "We see fingers lost because of the way the fence is built, sharp on top" commented Evenor Medrano a member of Grupo Beta, a group that helps illegal migrants in Tijuana (Dellios, 2005). It is evident that migrants are risking their lives trying to cross the border illegally to the U.S. Since Mexico is not providing job opportunities, illegal migrants cross the border looking for an economic support to help their families in Mexico. The Mexican and U.S. governments have presented possible solutions. However, governments seem to pay more attention to their political issues than the real problem, the illegal migrants. There are several issues like presidential campaigns, national security, and the Border Wall Plan being politicized by the Mexican and the United States government ignoring the migrants.

For example, on July 2, a presidential election will take place in Mexico. I am a Mexican citizen, and for the first time I will vote for a Mexican president in Mexicali. Being a migrant myself allows me to understand the migrants' motive to come to the U.S. However, the Mexican government is ignoring the illegal migrants and paying more attention to collecting votes for the next election. Paying more attention to presidential campaigns in Mexico ignoring the migrants is the first issue being politicized. For example, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a candidate for PRD [Party of the Democratic Revolution], is supporting a "dialogue with U.S. officials 'to ensure human and labor rights' for migrants working in the U.S." (Lindquist, 20-106). However, a better dialogue does not ensure the halt of illegal migration to the U.S. Similarly, Roberto Madrazo, a candidate for PRI [Institutional Revolutionary Party], is paying more attention to his campaign then migrants. Madrazo "supports a guest-worker program that would allow migrants to work in the U.S. but return to Mexico to live" (Lindquist, 20-106). However, President Fox in his six years of presidency could not establish the guest-worker program. For the U.S. to accept the program, Madrazo should reconstruct it and not ...