On December 22, 2018, Donald Trump ordered a government shutdown because of the Democratic party’s unwillingness to fund the $5 billion border wall between the US and Mexico. This border wall debate created the longest government shutdown in US history.

The border wall needs to be erected.

Firstly, Illegal immigrants are evading from taxes and taking welfare away from American citizens who need it. According to a study by the Center for Immigration Studies, in 2014, sixty-three percent of non-citizen households reported that they used at least one welfare program compared to only thirty-five percent of native households. The non-citizen households are more likely to jump ship and take the money that should be going to American citizens who are struggling. Secondly, there are rapists and murderers coming over to the US. In 2015, illegal immigrants picked up by ICE, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, had 2,028 homicide offenses. According to an ICE report, 5,350 charges or convictions of sexual assault were levied against illegal immigrants during the 2018 fiscal year.

The left says the wall is immoral. However, seventy-seven other countries around the world already have strong borders. It is not a new idea that the government has come up with. The wall was the main promise of Trump’s campaign, and in my opinion, it is a big reason as to why he was elected.

In today’s society, the United States is being torn apart by the border wall debate. The longer we take to figure this out, the more divided we will become. The wall needs to be built soon so that Trump can fulfill his campaign promise of “locking down the border.”