Build that wall! Build that wall! Build that wall! The popular chant could be heard at every one of Donald Trump’s campaign rallies. It stands for America’s desire for stronger immigration policies and enforcement. This is a dramatic change from the Obama Administration’s policy that was a few steps short of open borders. So why such a departure from the nations previous stance, and what is the Trump Administration doing about it?

When looking at how Americans generally feel about immigration, the sights are mostly positive, for legal immigration at least. While there are most certainly some xenophobes out in the world and in the United States, they are a minority–just like racists. The problem most Americans–and legal immigrants–have is illegal immigration. They are a “yuge” strain on the economy, costing American taxpayers $134.9 billion according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform. The numbers are the conclusion of a 2017 study conducted by fair. These costs are largely due to medical care costs, education, law enforcement, court fee, and other welfare programs. A big problem with illegals having any government benefits is that they are essentially stealing those valuable benefits from citizens and legal immigrants who may also need them.

Legal immigrants are extremely fed up with illegal immigration. Why should they do things honorably and lawfully, and have to rip the hair from their heads and emptying their wallets dealing with the government, when they could have just walked in or had a child in this country. My mother is from the European nation of Slovenia, my friend and his mother are from Peru, and two family friends, a husband and wife, are from Trinidad and Tobago and Moldova respectively. They all detest illegal immigration. I know, you all must be thinking, well if they are friends, they must think the same politically. Nope. There is a range in political views in the field, but none-the-less they all feel slighted and cheated by illegals and the Liberal agenda.

So what is the new administration doing about the problem? Very recently DACA was a main point of contention in the federal budget with Democrats wanting a deal on DACA, and Republicans insisting on border wall funding in exchange. The administration has even begun testing prototypes and taking bids for contracts. The current plan is for the wall to be adaptable. The sheer immensity of the United States’ southern border results in a variety of terrain features that one style of wall will not satisfy. According to a Fox News article, “According to those familiar with the tests, the walls withstood cutting torches, jackhammers and concrete saws better than anything currently on the border, and were almost impossible to climb, thanks to anti-climbing and anti-perching features.” The tests we so successful that only one man could reach the top, but then could not get down, and had to be helped by a cherry picker. The same article mentions that the agents prefer the wall type that is see through and has no concrete base–they are worried the concrete can be blown through on the Mexican side without their knowledge as concrete is not see through.

Aside from prevention, the Trump Administration is also working on enforcement. President Trump constantly talks about how America is a nation of laws. He says that if people are not willing to respect these laws they should not be here taking advantage of government programs. A  recent change in the mission statement for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services reflects upon the desire to crack down on illegal immigration and protect the American homeland. The USCIS website lists the mission statement as follows: “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values.” A CNN article on the matter lists the former mission statement: “’USCIS secures America’s promise as a nation of immigrants by providing accurate and useful information to our customers, granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system.’” The major departure is the change from “secures America’s promise as a nation of immigrants,” to “administering the nation’s lawful immigration system….and….securing the homeland.” The law and order theme of Trump’s is once again prevalent here. This is only just scratching the surface of what the new administration is doing to combat illegal immigration and enforce the laws of the United States–especially against violent gang members.

What should happen next? Should the Democrats give way and provide funding for the needed and desired wall, or should they let more drugs, violence, economic ruin, and constituencies pour in?

Even though most of the Western World is dealing with a migrant crisis, Germany has been hit the hardest. This is due to policy that was created and directed by German Prime Minister Angela Merkel back in 2015. Publically, Merkel’s main goal in allowing floods of migrants–many of whom were mainly refugees from the war torn nation of Syria–was to be a good humanitarian and open up her rich and prosperous nation to those less fortunate.

The year Merkel opened the borders saw an astounding 890,000 migrants swarm the German Fatherland. Since the 2015 crisis, the German Office of Migrants and Refugees has seen drastic decreases in the official numbers of those entering the country. The official numbers for 2016 are approximately 280,000 people, a massive decrease of nearly seventy percent. Last year (2017) saw another decrease to 186,644 asylum seekers. On the surface it seems that Germany is slowly solving their immigration problem. However, much like the United States, it is not only the number of documented peoples entering the country, it is also those who enter illegally and remain under the radar–this is particularly dangerous for Germany as the EU leader has been the target of terrorist attacks. Similarly to the United States’ illegal immigration problem, it is nearly impossible to ever determine the true number of migrants that enter Germany. This particular problem has profound economic, social, and political impacts on a nation. Politicians in the US Congress always stress the “economic impact” that deporting and supporting mass numbers of illegal immigrants can have–both are said to cost lots of money and harm businesses by losing employees. The question of what to do with all the people is a social issue that raises questions such as should they assimilate? Should they be forced to work? Should they be eligible for government benefits? Even though the last one seems to be more of a political question, it is not for the simple reasoning that it is a reflection of how society feels about the migrants–are they one of them, or are they useless burdens? The answers to many of the questions are political because the solutions require government action.

BBC reported statistics from Lower Saxony in Germany that show a 10.4% increase in violent crimes in 2015 and 2016, with 92.1% of this increase being attributed to migrants. The article states that researches found that “integration” through language courses, sports, and apprenticeships will reduce violent crimes committed by the migrants. The key word is “integration.” Apparently assimilation and integration are dirty words to today’s left wingers. In the United States and Western Europe requiring immigrants to learn the native tongue and integrate into society is racist, and proves ignorance to the foreigners’ culture and xenophobia. This is the opposite of true. Not assimilating is culturally insensitive to the host country, and shows a disregard for its citizens. Unintegrated migrants do harm to their children in a way as well. Without being able to fit into some clique other then other migrants, migrant children will not be able to make friends and participate in society effectively as adults.

Terrorism is the boogie man that hangs over all European nations to take in the influx of refugees from the Middle East. Germany, being the number one destination, is at the largest risk. An important question the German Interior Ministry faces at present is how to create an efficient way to check asylum seekers for possible terrorists, while at the same time speeding up the process. The advocacy group Pro Asyl stated that “speeding up asylum proceedings has come at the cost of thoroughness, and the burden has been transferred to the courts.” The tricky aspect of terrorism is that it is asymmetric warfare, meaning it uses guerrilla tactics, not large scale armies. When combatants are out of uniform it can be very difficult to identify them, especially in the case of Germany which has enormous amounts of suspects; sadly more are likely to slip through the cracks.

So, how should Germany be approaching the issue? They are favoring integrating those already there, but what about the ones that still want to come? Most importantly, what should be done about the terror threat? Should Germany do the smart thing and stop the tide, or do the humanitarian thing and allow more to come? For the later a better system must be put in place. This also comes with border security to prevent illegal aliens from entering.