President Trump has renewed his promise to build a wall along our southern border and, despite fierce political opposition, figures to have built or renovated 450 miles of wall by the end of 2020.
One of the objections opponents of a border wall with Mexico raise against the president's determination to erect such a barrier is that a wall simply wouldn't work to keep illegal aliens out. A wall would be enormously expensive to build and maintain, the argument goes, and it wouldn't be effective in preventing people from coming into the country illegally in any case.
Well, I don't know if a partition along our southern border would work or not, but the general claim that walls don't work is nonsense. Perhaps the best refutation of the claim is found in Israel which has a security fence that runs for 760 kilometers (about 456 miles) along the West Bank. Most of the fence was constructed between 2002 and 2009 and during that span terror attacks inside Israel declined over 90 percent and related deaths plunged over 98 percent.
The Israeli barrier has had some very unfortunate consequences for people who found themselves walled off from their orchards and fields, but it has certainly been a success in protecting the Israeli people from the intrusions of those who wish to do them harm.
Perhaps the reason open borders proponents raise the "walls don't work" objection to a border wall with Mexico is not because they don't believe it would work, but because they believe it will.
Another objection frequently heard is that a generous and caring people wouldn't prevent needy migrants from coming into the country and thus a wall is a symbol of selfishness and cold-heartedness. This objection is even sillier than the "walls don't work" canard.
It is doubtless safe to say that everyone who makes this argument, from Pope Francis who is surrounded by a huge wall at the Vatican, on down to the average citizen, lives in homes whose doors are locked against unwanted visitors. If someone sincerely believes that it's unkind to exclude those who seek to enter our country illegally why on earth don't they act consistently and unlock the doors to their homes and cars when they leave them so that those in need can avail themselves of whatever resources they can find therein?
Of course they don't do this, and won't do this, which suggests that their claim that locked doors or closed borders are somehow immoral is disingenuous.
