My kids used jump the fence in the backyard all the time.  It beat going around the block.  On the other hand, most of us respect fences.  Well, actually they did too.  It just was that it was convenient and they knew it was okay.

Most of us cross lines all the time.  The state line is just a few miles from me and, when I worked, I crossed it at least twice a day.  The only way I could really tell were those signs alongside the highway.  However, those lines are very real.  Just ask the local police.  I am sure that, from time to time, they are frustrated by them.  When I was on grand jury duty, I got to see the results of them regularly.  People came down into Mississippi and committed small crimes and headed north.  Most of time, the state line protected them.

We don’t normally think much of it, but most of us respect property lines.  We stay on the sidewalks.  Even when there is no fence, we rarely go onto the property of others.  It is something we are taught from the time we learn to toddle.

However, some don’t respect the property lines of others.  I was reminded of this when a man walked into my house with a 45 caliber pistol.  Fortunately, I lived through that.  Not all of us do survive such things.

For decades, the US had no more than a border line between Mexico and the US.  Most respected the line.  Not so much anymore.  When they see no obstruction, they cross into the US, knowing that it is against the law.  They have no respect for those who immigrate legally.  They just decide to jump in the front of all those who seek to immigrate legally.

Then, of course, there are fences.  Most countries have fences on their borders.  Some even have walls.  Some of us have fences around our houses.  It discourages people from entering illegally with 45s.  Obviously, they don’t always stop people but they do discourage it. Without the fences, trespassing would be far more common.

For a long time, we had a fence along the boarder with Mexico.  I actually saw it a time or two.  It was all we needed.  Most who approached the fence realized they were supposed to respect it.  This is not so much anymore.  The fence will hardly slow them down.  By the way, that goes for fences on personal property too.

In the old days, when someone had no respect for the border, we rounded them up and sent them home.  Nowadays, it would seem illegal aliens are a protected bunch.  They must be handled very carefully.  After all, they now have more rights than legal immigrants.  They have more rights than citizens.

Walls are distinctive from fences and lines.  Mostly, walls, by definition, are more difficult to cross.  People confronted by a nice tall wall will generally give up, turn around and go home.  Some try to go around them.  That becomes impossible when there are no gaps in the wall.  Some try to go under them.  It is proof that they work.  No one would go through all that effort if the walls didn’t work.

Regardless, none of them work when we, as a nation promise open arms, free health care, schools and food stamps.  It is the nature of man.  Whatever behavior is rewarded, is the behavior you will get.

I am in strong favor of big walls, or deep trenches.  I don’t care much which.  However, none of it will work when we keep rewarding the illegal alien.

1. When they cross over, we must do all we can to immediately return them.  It is a horrible thing to promise them paradise and then treat them like dirt.
2. We must make sure they cannot find employment.  It is one of the biggest drawing cards.
3. We must double down on those who commit crimes.  When we find someone committing a crime, we should put them in prison and then insure they go home after they finish their time.  This protects those living in the US illegally, those here with visas as well as us citizens.
4. Anyone found crossing the border a second time should spend one or more years in prison before being sent home.  At first, this will crowd our prisons.  However, once they figure it out, they will stop coming north.
5. The problem of visa overstays must be resolved.  When they arrive, they need to be made aware that they must live according to our laws and they must be clearly told that if they overstay their visa, they will be punished.  This must be enforced even for those who have lucrative jobs.
6. Those who enter illegally must be prevented from ever becoming citizens or given visas.  This should also apply to those who overstay their visa.  If they won’t respect our borders, they likely will not respect our laws.  We already have enough people her who don’t respect the law.

If we don’t do these things, our immigration laws will mean nothing.  Still, we need to build the walls.  Lines and fences no longer work.  No one seems to have any respect for them.  It is important to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.  But it is also important to stem the flow of drugs prostitution and sweat shops.  By the way, it will also save us a bundle on the cost of feeding and educating them.  At this point, we could have built four walls 40 feet high along the entire border with what we would have saved just last year.  That is likely a low estimate.  Maybe we could have made a fifth wall.

The truth is that walls stop people from crossing the border.  Nothing else will.  More important, by not building the wall, there are armed conflicts.  That is bad for both us and them.  By keeping them south of the border, it might save their lives.  Indeed, it might save their lives by discouraging them from leaving their own countries to begin with.

BUILD THE WALL