Trump's border wall led to a government shutdown
And could lead to another one
But is the best defense a good...
fence?
Hi, welcome to America Uncovered.
I'm Chris Chappell.
Here on America Uncovered,
we try to look at issues from multiple sides.
And most of the time,
what happens is that we discover that
it's way more complex than we first thought.
It's kind of like when you go to Costco to pick up some steaks
but then end up at checkout holding
a high-speed blender and
a five-gallon tub of frozen cream puffs
and also the realization that you've never really understood
all of the complex challenges facing America today.
Speaking of complex problems with no simple solutions,
illegal immigration.
According to a recent Economist YouGov survey,
62% of Americans think that illegal immigration
is a very serious or somewhat serious problem.
24% think it's a minor problem,
and only 7% think it's not a problem.
In recent months,
the illegal immigration debate has mostly turned into a debate
about building a wall across the US-Mexico border.
In the same survey, Americans are split pretty much down the middle
about whether they favor or oppose
a border wall to stop illegal immigration.
Well today, that changes.
Because we here at America Uncovered
have solved the border wall crisis.
The same crisis that caused the
longest partial US government shutdown ever,
and which could cause another government shutdown in like a week.
The solution to the border wall crisis is...
Call the border wall a fence.
Thanks for watching this episode of America Uncovered,
be sure to—
what's that, Shelley?
Right, I need to explain the fence thing.
Let's talk first about what the border wall currently is.
The $5.7 billion dollars that President Trump wanted
to fund the wall would be used to
"to replace 115 miles of border fence and
build an additional 100 miles of new barriers."
There's currently around 650 miles of fencing.
And almost half of that fencing is designed to only stop vehicles,
and not people.
Even with the additional 100 miles of border wall that Trump wants,
only a third of the border would have any type of barriers.
That's a far cry from the idea of a
solid concrete wall that stretches across the entire border.
And while Trump initially favored a concrete border wall,
like some of these prototypes...
in recent months, after talking to the Border Patrol,
he's changed it to a wall made of see-through steel slats.
Which sounds to me like
a fence.
Similar to this,
this wall/fence currently on the border
between San Diego California and Tijuana Mexico.
So if we're talking about building a large steel fence,
why was this so controversial that the government had to be shut down?
It's because the border wall is no longer a policy issue.
It's a symbol.
To Republicans it's a symbol of securing the border,
stopping illegal immigration, and supporting Trump.
To Democrats it's a symbol of intolerance, anti-immigration,
and, well, supporting Trump.
So Republicans chant "build the wall," and Democrats chant...
well, let's be honest,
Democrats aren't as good at coming up with catchy slogans.
But Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
did call the wall "an immorality."
"Don't built the wall.
The wall is an immorality."
Yeah it doesn't work.
This article from the Cato Institute,
a libertarian think tank that is pro-legal immigration
and anti-border wall,
shows that in several polls,
the majority of Americans
supported a border wall or fence before 2015.
That includes even a slim majority of Democrats
that favored "building a security fence."
What happened in 2015?
Donald Trump.
When he began running for president,
the symbolism around the border wall changed.
President Trump may genuinely want to build a wall for border security.
But building the wall is also a campaign promise to his supporters.
And Trump wants to be seen as delivering on his promises,
and not caving to the Democrats.
Meanwhile, the Democrats just won a majority
in the House of Representatives,
and the border wall and government shutdown
are the first issues they've faced.
So they can't cave to Trump, either.
In fact, Democrats see Trump as such a huge enemy
that most Democratic politicians
can't support anything that Trump supports.
Except for maybe being tough on China.
The point is,
the government shutdown happened because politicians needed
to score political points against politicians from the other side.
That's not governance.
That's a football game.
And not the fun kind of football.
The other kind,
where it takes 35 days to score a single goal.
Just make the goal posts bigger already!
So the border wall is also a symbol of how
our system gets gridlocked when policy issues become political footballs.
Or soccer balls.
Which means that to get anywhere,
we need to desymbolize the border wall.
Which is why the solution is to call it something else.
As this Cato Institute article shows,
more people support a border fence than a border wall.
And Democrats have supported border fences before,
like in the Secure Fence Act of 2006,
which 90 Democratic members of Congress voted for,
including Senators Hillary Clinton,
Chuck Schumer, and Barack Obama.
Most of the current 650 miles of fencing at the border
was built after it was signed into law—
and mostly under Obama.
There was also a Senate vote
on a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013,
which included doubling the amount of fencing at the border.
All 54 Democratic senators voted for the bill,
but it was defeated by Senate Republicans.
Now, of course, before we build any more of the border wall/fence,
there are issues that should be considered—
like eminent domain, environmental impact,
and how effective it would be in each area.
And there would likely need to be funding
for other border security beyond just a wall.
According to lawmakers,
"The administration's border security experts
advised providing money for a mix of
additional law enforcement agents,
physical barriers and high-tech devices."
But we can't discuss those actual issues
if we're really just fighting over a political symbol.
So can Congress stop arguing about building a wall
and start talking about whether good fences make good neighbors?
Well, there are some signs that a compromise might be reached.
Democratic negotiators have backed down
from saying no money for a border wall
to saying that there might be money for
"enhanced fencing or other types of barriers."
Ok, fencing and barriers.
That's a good start.
President Trump?
"This is a smart, strategic, see-through steel barrier—
not just a simple concrete wall."
Ok, so it's not just a wall—
it's a barrier!
Which is obviously better.
And that just goes to show,
no matter how you feel about Trump,
everyone can agree that he is great at branding.
We're talking about a man who managed to
sell everything from a board game,
to his own line of steaks.
"You'll absolutely love Trump Steaks."
Soon he'll be getting his supporters
to chant "build the barrier" while
wearing hats that say "mend America's fences again."
So what do you think about calling the border wall
a border fence or a barrier?
Let me know in the comments below.
And on our next episode,
a plan to stop future government shutdowns
by calling them government hoedowns.
No one wants to see Mitch McConnell
in his square dancing outfit.
And remember, America Uncovered
is funded mainly through support from viewers like you—
since YouTube doesn't place ads on controversial videos.
Like ones that talk about border fences.
So please visit Patreon.com/AmericaUncovered
and support our show with a dollar or more per episode—
so we can keep making great content for you.
Thanks for watching America Uncovered.
I'm Chris Chappell.
See you next time.
For more infomation >> 2/7/19 19:17 (106 Pin Oak St, Bluffton, SC 29910, USA) - Duration: 5:21. 
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