I support immigration to the United States. Coming to the United States to work hard for a better life is a great thing. However, illegal immigration is a significant problem for the U.S. People entering illegally do not go through the proper processes of becoming a citizen. Essentially, those individuals cut in front of those who have waited years and gone through the proper channels to become citizens. Additionally, failures in tracking the movement of people in and out of the country prevents the U.S. from monitoring illegal activities, such as the movement of narcotics. Due to this, Trump’s battle to stop illegal immigration is very important. Since Trump took office, the Department of Homeland Security has taken the stance of “referring and then prosecuting 100 percent of illegal border crossers, building the first new border wall in a decade, and deploying the National Guard to the border.” Donald Trump deserves a B+ due to his efforts to curtai both illegal immigrants and narcotics by deploying the National Guard to the border, increasing the funding for ICE, and building a larger and more effective border wall.
When some illegal immigrants try to cross the border, they pay men known as “Coyotes” to lead them through the harsh desert. Many of these coyotes work for large drug cartels in Mexico, and often lead men carrying large quantities of narcotics. According to the former commissioner of ICE, Gil Kerlikowske, 90% of drugs entering the United States come from the Southern border. Since October of 2020 alone, over 4,035lbs of marijuana, 655lbs of cocaine, 94lbs of heroin, 2,992lbs of methamphetamine, and 171lbs of fentanyl have been seized by border patrol agents along the US-Mexico border along with $93,302,645 in currency seized from traffickers.
Trump has tried to curtail these numbers by increasing the number of border patrol agents, bringing in the National Guard, and building a better border wall with Mexico. While many Congress members, government officials, and various members of the press have tried to fight him on these issues, Trump has made good on his promise to improve border security. The wall is being built as we speak and has already been shown to decrease illegal immigration. In a report on the effectiveness of the wall, the Department of Homeland security stated that “when a violent mob of 1,000 people stormed our Southern border, we found the newly constructed portions of the wall to be very effective.” Border patrol and ICE have received an increase in funding and the US has deployed active-duty troops to the US-Mexico border who will stay through 2021. In other words, Trump has achieved his illegal immigration reform goals.
Overall, when considering the points above, Trump has worked hard to achieve his goals to protect the US-Mexico border. The lasting impact of his border policy will last the test of time. The amount of drugs and cash seized along the border alone in 2020 is astonishing. Through an increased ICE presence, militarization, and the highly-effective border wall, President Trump has done an excellent job reducing illegal immigration and drug trafficking along the US-Mexico Border.