Private funds financed the construction of the first kilometer of the wall between the USA and Mexico on the last weekend of May. As soon as a federal judge prevented Donald Trump’s government from constructing the wall at the state level, private donations financed the construction of the wall on private property.
From his tour to Japan, Trump accused Obama appointee Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. of obstructing the construction of the wall which is being built since the term of Democratic president Bill Clinton.
“This is a ruling against border security and in favor of crime, drugs, and human trafficking. We are asking for an expedited appeal!” exclaimed Trump who filed an appeal on 25th May against the Friday ruling.
While the Trump administration is fighting the legal battle, the productive sector has offered an alternative solution: private management.
The first segment of the steel fence was built between El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. It has a life expectancy of 75 years, unlike the existing fence on the rest of the border that has an expectancy of 25 years.
A group named We Build the Wall shared pictures of the construction on social media with the message, “Buckle up, we’re just getting started!”
From March 2018 to April 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection recorded an increase of 1816% in the entry of undocumented individuals at the border and stopped an average of 930 per day.
According to Kris Kobach, the former secretary of state of Kansas and present advisor of the We Build the Wall project, 45,000 kilograms of drugs are smuggled across the border every day through a “ridiculously large gap” in the El Paso area. He alleges that 100 undocumented immigrants entered the U.S. at night through that unprotected area.
The gap is situated on private property which did not previously have any fencing, and thus, the wall was built there with private funds.
While the rest of the country is celebrating memorial day, a public holiday to pay tribute to the veterans and heroes of war, this organization that considers itself patriotic, wanted to gift to the nation the strengthening of its defense.
It is the first time private funds finance a border wall
“This is the first time any private organization has built a border wall on private land,” Kobach remarked.
It is noteworthy that the average donation did not exceed 67 USD. However, there were so many donors that the total collected exceeded 20 million USD.
From a liberal point of view, the debate on free transit is divided between those who consider it unfair to impede access to other people and those who defend the restriction as protection of private property.
This fragment of the wall was entirely built on private property. Thus, it is protected.
Additionally, voluntary funds collected on the Go Fund Me website financed the construction.
Nevertheless, it is no small fact that Mexico has become the entry route for those who flee not only from dictatorial regimes but also from mafias that persecute migrants. They see the U.S. as their only hope.
Cubans in exile are the newest victims of illegal immigration
President Obama’s administration ended the ‘wet feet, dry feet’ policy that allowed Cubans entry into the USA once they touched American soil after crossing through the sea. Cubans escaping the country now enter the USA through Mexico.
However, this situation poses different kinds of threats for all migrants. In April alone, 750 migrants escaped from the migrant detention center in Tapachula, in the south of Mexico, where they claim that owing to painful conditions, several people have died including an older man and, a pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage.
Additionally, they encounter pressure from the mafias who try to control and intimidate them.
Therefore, Cubans in exile demonstrated in Miami to express solidarity with the migrants. They maintain that the Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is complicit with his ideological allies, the Cuban regime, and is permitting the mistreatment of the Cubans that the regime regards as “worms” or “counter-revolutionaries” for abandoning the communist revolution.
The complicity of Central American governments
According to Mexican sociologist and public policy expert, Carlos Baños Lemoine, the migratory situation remains unresolved in part because of the complicity of Central American governments.
Hondurans living in the USA send remittances to their families back home, which constitute 20% of Honduras’ GDP. The amount of payments has increased by 10% in recent years.
Not only does it help the economy of the country, but the emigration of the poorest people also alleviates the burden of the state.
Thus, there are multiple reasons why the situation does not improve.
Finally, Lemoine points out that migrants who cross Mexico’s southern border are exposed to many dangers at the hands of organized crime groups and corrupt authorities. The risks include robbery, assault, rape, kidnapping, extortion, human trafficking, etc.
Mass migration also poses risks to the Mexicans who live in neighborhoods close to the migrant routes due to the presence of organized criminals who take advantage of the vulnerability of the migrants.
The citizens who face this problem also have to deal with the governments of the region who cannot agree on a solution. Thus, they are financing their solution: a controlled border.