Gallup says this on Trump and the border

The cost to fully secure the border is astronomical. It's not worth it. The threat of terrorism is practically zero; there hasn't been a single terror attack executed from people who entered illegally from Mexico, and total arrests for terrorism is 2. And they were adults who entered as kids and were later radicalized.

The majority of people entering are basically refugees looking for work and a better life. Why not allow them to enter legally and stay at a border center for 48 hours while we process and do a background check. Nobody with a felony conviction should be allowed in. If they pass, then give them 3 months max to find a job and start paying $5/week Guest Visa.

All adults must pay. Kids' fees can be waived if they enter school and graduate high school.

If we charged this fee for all current undocumented in our workforce, we collect about $2 billion a year. We could use this money to shore up official crossing centers, where 90% of illicit drugs enter from Mexico. We can also use the budget to spot check to ensure the migrants are actually working.

The result of allowing "refugees" to enter legally would stop them from entering illegally. We would also be able to process and register all those entering. And anyone who couldn't enter legally? Without the masses of refugees, catching them would be easier with less traffic interference. The result would be a more secure border! And with guest worker fee collections, not cost us any extra money!

 

Maybe he'll accomplish that and his other promises. But given his success last time with health care, infrastructure, crime, the border wall ...

 

You're not factoring in how much immigrants without a high school education cost America. Answer: Roughly $750K over their lifetimes. That's how much more they will collect in government benefits than they will pay in taxes. Per Jason Richwine and Robert Rector, 2012. I adjusted their number of $600k up to $750k to adjust for inflation.

I know you liberals think we need this cheap labor. Not once have I seen a liberal explain why we need to make them American citizens.

Regarding whether our open border contributes to terrorism (I would include murders), you may be in for a rude awakening this year. Not all terrorists come in across the southern border but many do.

Here's what I've been hearing:

1) Sarah Adam's, a "former CIA targeter" has been saying for weeks that roughly 1000 Al Qseda (or ISIS) types are in her opinion going to commit mass casualty attacks in the US this year.

2) Yesterday a friend of mine told me about what his friends have told him: 2025 will be a year of mass casualties in the US. One of his friends briefs Obama. One thing he told me is that the 2 assassination attempts on Trump are just the ones that have been made public.

I told him I was concerned that I was concerned not only about Trump but attacks on his family. My friend said that was what his contacts told him as well. "Iran wants Trump to suffer," my friend said.

A year ago I predicted Iran would try to kill Trump with a drone when he was playing golf or at Mar-a-lago (the same way Trump killed Soleimani). I also thought Iran might kill Trump while he was playing golf with snipers.

Who else might want Trump dead? The US Deep State/Mossad/Ukraine.

Let's see how it plays out. Nothing is written in stone, and as I have said, predicting the future is hard

 

You're not factoring in how much money is generated from undocumented immigrant labor. Agriculture alone is a $1.5 trillion industry. Half the crops are picked by immigrants. Construction is a $3.3 trillion industry with 25% to 33% workers being undocumented. The CATO Institute estimated that just DREAMers alone would generate over $19 billion in wealth and $2 billion in tax revenues over a ten year period. And they represent only a small fraction of undocumented workers. Charge every undocumented $5/week for a visa and you generate $2 billion a year.

As for terrorism, if they are here in the US, they aren't entering illegally from Mexico. Too high a risk. We capture about 1/3 of all who try and enter illegally. About another 5% to 10% don't survive the desert, which can be harsh year round. There are much safer ways that do not risk capture for terrorists to enter.

To prove the point, look at the 9/11 terrorists. Zero entered illegally from Mexico. But had they tried, statistically, 7 out of the 22 would've been caught. 1 would have died during the journey. Think their mission would've been successful down 8 men, 7 of whom being in US custody at one point in time?

Then there are the Mexican cartels. Ruthless, yes, but also rational actors. They know the US Military poses a threat to their business. What gets the US Military involved in the border regardless of who is in power? A terror attack from immigrants who enter illegally from Mexico. Politics make strange bedfellows. And is this instance, Mexican cartels help protect us from terrorists.

Again, a total of 2 people who entered from Mexico illegally have ever been charged with terrorism. And they entered as kids, and were radicalized later in life.

 

Why not put the border center in Mexico? Then if they pass the background check they can cross

 

From the poster that only posts opinion, grace us with ANY sourced facts that refute the "estimates".

 

Trump will control the border as well as he did the first time around. He may be able to build more than 54 miles of fence this time around with the support of Congress, but he will not complete any kind of wall across the 1950+ mile border. You fell for his border talk the first time around, and then you fell for it again the second time around. You, sir, are a true believer.

Reminds me of the old saying:

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

 

The problem with that is the people I know that are living here didn't come through the southern border. They came on an airplanes and overstayed their visa

 

Neither solution solves that problem

 

You would want to put it deep inside Mexico, like just north of Mexico City. If you put it too close to the border, the ones you turn away will make their own illegal attempt to cross the border, because it's right there. If you turn them away at Mexico City, it's a long way through desert terrain to get to the border. You would also need to provide transportation from the consulate to the U.S. At that distance, a train is the most cost-effective solution.

 

That happens with people from all countries, unfortunately. I think the government is less worried about those that come in by airplane, as they are wealthy enough to afford plane tickets and therefore less likely to become street criminals or gang members, or a burden on society.

 

He will have to get legislation through Congress or else the courts will strike down “Captain EO’s” orders. Again. He doesn’t seem to understand how the federal government works.

 

So the direct answer you were looking for is .... "you have no other facts that dispute these estimates but you don't like them."

 

I'd love to get accurate, future financial numbers. I'd use that info to get rich. But all we can do is estimate future events.

What aren't estimates are the trillions made by the ag and construction businesses in the US. And the fact both verticals rely on immigrants. Does Trump even have a concept if a plan to replace said labor?

 

“Mod-spamming”

Should be merged.

Trump's plan for mass deportations

 

The plan is to say, "Who knew that harvesting food and constructing houses could be so complicated?" Same line he always uses when he sticks his nose where it doesn't belong and tries to fix something complicated that actually works pretty well.

 

An archaeologist studying migration into the U.S. from the south interviewed human smugglers in Mexico and was surprised to learn that they love Donald Trump. They know that he will not be able to stop them, but they also love the way he talks tough about immigration. It helps drive up their prices.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/04/us/smugglers-mexico-jason-de-leon-cec/index.html

Yes, you heard that correctly. Trump is a human smuggler's best friend.

But who benefits from smuggling, besides the smuggler? It turns out we all do. (Hard-core Trump fans may want to skip this next paragraph, as it contains truths contrary to their limited worldview.)