The Border Security Debate We Should be Having

Amid all the sturm und drang of the standoff between President Trump and Democratic congressional leadership over his stubborn demand for $5.7 billion to build the border wall he promised his base during the 2016 campaign, there is thankfully a bit of attention being paid to the anguish and financial hardship this childish situation places on the more than 400,000 federal workers either furloughed or being forced to work without pay. Neither side, however, seems to be seriously aware of or concerned about the law of unintended consequences beyond this admittedly terrible consequence of what is essentially a political stunt; the other consequences flowing out of this situation that either were unforeseen, or just ignored.

     Occasionally mentioned in the news are the economic impacts of the shutdown; national parks being damaged, services not being delivered, companies suffering economic losses, air travel negatively impacted, and the list goes on, and is likely to get longer. While some would have us believe that only those inside the Beltway know or care about, those 800,000 federal workers are scattered all over the country. It’s not just long screening wait times at Dulles and National that are a problem, airports from Newark to San Diego suffer as low-income TSA screeners call out sick, or contemplate a career change.

     Speaking not as someone who spent 20 years in the military and 30 in the Foreign Service, who has personal experience of the previously longest shutdown in history (21 days during the Clinton Administration), but as a private citizen who cares deeply about this country, I would submit that both sides in this senseless debate need to sit down, take a deep breath, and reassess their negotiating strategies and positions. As an outsider with no real political axe to grind, I would offer some suggestions for all sides to consider.

President Trump

Stop flogging what was essentially a campaign mnemonic device to help remind you to discuss immigration in your stump speeches that generated a chant (Build the Wall) that caught on with the crowd, as the most important policy of your administration. Be specific in what you’re seeking, and for Pete’s sake, make it more than just a wall. Sure, physical barriers can be helpful, but a wall, standing all alone in a field, that is not patrolled, monitored, or maintained (all of which cost money), it’s just an architectural eye sore. For those who use prison walls as an example of walls that work, I point out that they work because of guards, guns, searchlights, and the fact that prisoners are locked in cells for a good part of the day. If your goal is truly to achieve border security, then submit a detailed plan. How many miles or yards of wall, where will it or they be built, what supporting infrastructure (roads, sensors, etc.) will be included, what are the personnel monitoring requirements, and what are the long-term maintenance costs? What are the environmental impacts and costs of seized land? What is the potential impact on agriculture and commerce?

Stop using bogus statistics to support the wall. For example, most drugs come through legal ports of entry, or come in by boat. A wall won’t stop or even slow the flow of drugs.

Stop falsely using the scare of terrorism, with the claim that 4,000 terrorists have been nabbed at the southern border. Records indicate six people who appeared on the terrorist watch list were detained, but nothing is known of the resolution of their cases. If you’re going to insist on using terrorism as an excuse, you’d better add the northern border to your wall-building sites because that’s the only land border over which an actual terrorist has passed.

Accept that most of the American people (56%) do not support your wall, and the majority government employees do not support shutting down the government because of a policy dispute.

Stop trying to shift the blame to others. Sure, it takes two or more to make an argument, but you publicly stated before the shutdown that you’d be ‘proud to shut down the government for border security.’ You might also take a closer look at how your shutdown is affecting border security. Among the 800,000 federal workers on furlough or working for free are the border patrol officers charged with securing the border.

Democrats

I fully empathize with the desire not to punish bad behavior, but in negotiations, if both sides aren’t willing to compromise a little, it’s not really a negotiation, but a two-way extortion attempt.

If the president shows a willingness to be reasonable, honest, and detailed in his border security proposals, then you should be willing to acknowledge that, while building a wall along the entire border is infeasible, impractical, and impossible, some physical barriers, with proper monitoring, are useful. Be prepared to work with him to find a reasonable middle ground that actually addresses border security.

A very short recommendation, but given the current dynamics, it should be enough to allow the Republican leadership to come out of hiding and engage in a bipartisan effort to end this charade.