Americans Against the Wall

Dear Senator Clinton,

Vote against further appropriations for the wall between Mexico and the United States.

We, citizens of the United States, and residents of your New York constituency especially, disapprove of your recent vote to appropriate 1.2 billion dollars for a wall between Mexico and the United States. The following are the reasons we think you should vote against this sort of offensive, not to mention ineffective, measure: It is a waste of money, it is racist, and it further damages U.S. prestige abroad—and at home.

First, the 1.2 billion dollars is clearly going to the wrong place. That money could be instead a loan, spent creating jobs for either U.S. or Mexican citizens. 1.2 billion invested in industry south of the U.S. border—especially if it is just a down payment—would help curtail the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. This would ease tensions on both sides. Neither U.S. citizens nor Mexicans want to encourage further migrant work and the further dependence of Mexico on the U.S. for jobs. Being a friendly neighbor and helping Mexicans work would be a step towards ending border-hopping, not to mention economic dependency on the U.S.

Second, we too feel that migrant labor is no solution, but unlike the administration, value the lives of Mexicans that cross the border. No Mexican child dreams of a migrant’s life. No child dreams of not having the chance to earn an education, to abandon friends, family, and community to eke out a living on what U.S. Americans would consider slave wages—but wages that help Mexican families squeak by. We feel that subjecting such a large population to this sort of life when we can help is inhumane if not also racist. And frankly, making it harder to cross the border does not result in fewer attempts to cross, making it harder to cross the border just results in more deaths. We value the lives of Mexicans just as much as the lives of Americans.

Third, 1.2 billion for a symbolic gesture seems a bit expensive. This seems especially true when one considers the hidden costs: U.S. national prestige at home and abroad. American business and military interests worldwide have resulted in unpopular wars and policies that hurt the U.S. in terms of international relations. These policies have also resulted in the unpopularity of Americans when they travel abroad. The change is palpable. Why does the country want to hurt relations with a neighbor that has stuck by its side despites its recent plummet in prestige abroad?

Fourth, as a working American, I unfortunately realize that Mexican racism is born—ironically enough—out of the best of intentions. It is born out of insecurity about American jobs. This sort of phenomenon, where a marginalized working class learns to despise an even more marginal group of people in fear of losing jobs, is nothing new. Legislating in favor of unions and working families’ rights, however, would go a lot further towards ameliorating working class anxieties than exacerbating popular racism. Let me be frank: the 1.2 billion would be better spent helping Americans than hurting Mexicans—and a symbolic gesture, like that of building a wall, never actually protected any American jobs.

Finally, lest we backtrack on the promise that the wall is being put up to help “fight terror” clearly one will need to be put up along the Canadian border as well. In addition, visa restrictions will have to be stepped up for people who are not recognizably American—and what exactly this means I will leave up to the lawmakers to define. Whatever grain of truth under girds the national mythology about melting pots and the like, America seems to be backtracking and retrenching itself in a racism that fits all too well.

Sincerely the undersigned,