If we’ve heard Donald Trump talk about one thing more than any other (and Lord knows he is always talking), it would probably be his proposed plan to deport some 11 million Hispanic immigrants who have entered the United States illegally and then to build a wall which he says he will make Mexico pay for.
One thing is certain: the Donald has gotten gobs of media attention for his so-called plan to deal with immigration. But that whole deportation and wall thing…never gonna happen. Not feasible, too expensive, stupid, shortsighted, bad idea, etc.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, who Trump had removed from a recent news conference, has, with superb clarity and wisdom, proven just how ludicrous the touchstone of the Trump campaign is.
In a video he posted on YouTube, Ramos makes some incredibly salient points:
Deportation
Ramos starts his presentation by explaining that deporting all of the undocumented immigrants in the United States would require forcing more than 11 million people to leave the country. That act would result in the largest migration in human history and would also more than likely lead to a human rights crisis that no one is prepared to handle. Strike one!
The Great Wall of 2016
Estimated cost to build this wall: $20 billion. And then you get the Mexican government to pay for this wall with a tariff on all goods traded between the two countries? No, you start a trade war and bring down the world economy. Strike two!
Can’t Get There From Here
Building this magical wall would not keep most illegal immigrants out of the country. That’s because 40 percent of migrants fly into the United States legally on visas. Then they overstay their visa’s expiration. So 40 percent will still come into the U.S. and appear to be legal.
Here’s another factoid that Trump hasn’t talked about: 147,000 immigrants came from China in the year 2013. That same year only 125,000 immigrants came to the United States from Mexico. The largest numbers of immigrants are coming from India and China. And I’m pretty sure China already has their own Great Wall, so how are you gonna keep them out, Donald? Strike three! Have a seat on the bench, Trump.
And So…
The only solution to the problem is to allow for those who are already here to remain, make them citizens, perhaps have them pay a small fine, and then get on with the real business of America.
What Trump and his rabid minions on the right neglect to realize is that our diversity is what makes us the greatest country in the world. Take that away, and we are nothing more than a country with an oversized military and too many weapons of mass destruction.
Is that the legacy we want to leave to our children?
