El Paso Proves Walls Work

Crime rates have dropped since a border wall was built in El Paso. Why, then, is the mainstream media ignoring it?

El Paso served as the backdrop this week as President Donald Trump held a rally in which he called on Democrats to support the construction of a wall along the southern border to curb illegal immigration.

The wall has been a cornerstone of Trump’s campaign since its inception. Since then, Democrats and liberal Republicans have predictably attempted to stonewall progress in Washington D.C.

Democrats claim a wall would be “immoral,” but in truth it is immoral to continue to ignore the human trafficking, child smuggling, and drug running that happens every day along our porous border.

It’s a reality that is all too familiar to those that live along the more than 80% of the southern border that has no man-made obstacles—walls, fences, metal slats, or otherwise.

In El Paso, where President Trump spoke, crime was rampant during the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Then, in 1993, a fence was built to separate the city from Ciudad Juarez, it’s crime-ridden neighbor across the Rio Grande. The results were immediate.

Talking to locals in El Paso, as the crime rate fell, the city instantly felt safer.

In fact, in just the first year alone, apprehensions by U.S. Border Control dropped 73%.

One gentleman I met with, who had lived in El Paso his entire life, told me that thirty years ago he would never dream of raising a family so close to the border. Now, he had raised seven children.

President Trump said it best during his rally. “Just a few thousand feet from where we’re standing is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, Juarez. Thanks to a very powerful border wall in El Paso, it is now one of the safest cities.”

It should come as no surprise, walls are effective. And yet the Democrats and their allies in the liberal media continue to twist facts to avoid this simple truth.

Newspapers tried to tear President Trump apart when he mentioned the effectiveness of El Paso’s border wall during his State of the Union address, comparing incorrect years and using bad data to try to undermine the argument.

But as the political battling over the wall wages on in Washington D.C., Texas could take the matter into its own hands.

Two members of the Texas House of Representatives, State Reps. Kyle Biedermann (R–Fredericksburg) and Briscoe Cain (R–Deer park), are drafting legislation to have Texas help pay for its portion of the proposed barrier. While the legislation has yet to be filed, it’s not the first time the idea has been thrown around. Earlier this year, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told the President that, if the federal government will reimburse the state for the money, Texas would build the wall in the areas where it is needed along our 1,254 mile border.

However the wall, or barrier, is ultimately built, Texans know how important securing the border is. As the President often says, “without borders we don’t have a Country.”

And as those that call El Paso home know firsthand: walls work.

The content of this article originally appeared as a commentary on Texas Scorecard Radio.