President Trump campaigned on, among other things, a promise of a border wall between the United States and Mexico. His message resonated with voters. The country wants our borders protected. And, as I and many others predicted, the left immediately mounted an attack.

“The wall is racist!” “The wall is immoral!” “The wall is a waste of money!” All of these assertions are, of course, dead wrong. But I blame President Trump for the impasse we’ve reached on this issue. No, I’m not talking about the government shutdown. Frankly, the longer the shutdown continues, the more light it shines on just how bloated the federal bureaucracy has become. Mr. Trump got us so wrapped up in “the wall”, he failed to point out the companion services that must go with it: technology and people.

A physical barrier is essential. ‘Good fences make good neighbors’, the saying goes. Do you have a fence around your backyard? Most likely, you do. And it’s as much to keep people out as to keep children, pets, etc.., in. You have doors on your home with locks to protect your family and secure your belongings. Yet we are told we have no ‘right’ to secure our international border? Nancy Pelosi has the gall to tell you and I that a wall is ‘immoral’? She’s the last person on Capitol Hill who needs to be lecturing anyone on morality.

Yes, we need a wall, a physical barrier. But we need much more than just the wall.  We need more people, more border agents, well trained, armed and prepared to deal with any incident. We need to employ the most current drone technology. Drones, armed with high-resolution cameras, feeding real-time video surveillance to agents on the ground. Well, guess what? U.S Customs and Border Protection already operate nine such drones along the border. But, according to a Cato Institute article, they’ve not proven very effective. An effective physical barrier will enhance their effectiveness by slowing, and sometimes stopping, illegal crossings.

But, what about video surveillance? We have that also, but we certainly could use more and, again, a physical barrier will enhance the efficacy of the video surveillance by slowing down those who do try to breach, climb or tunnel under a wall. Speaking of tunneling, what about seismographic equipment? Shouldn’t we be using that as well?  We do and clearly, need more. Again, an effective physical barrier will make this even more effective.

The protection of our border is not as simple as just ‘the wall’. The wall is a great idea and worth every penny, but only if adequately enhanced with the latest technology and better-trained boots on the ground. The people working our southern border do the best they can with the resources they have. Just as a fence or wall around your property makes it more difficult for intruders to get in, a wall will serve to slow and in some cases stop people from entering our nation illegally.

Congress, get to work, do your job, fund the wall, fund the people and put the best technology in place. Our republic deserves it, the people demand it. We’re not asking you, we’re commanding you to do your job.

Sources: Cato Intstitute, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement

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