Blog Stage 4: Illegal Immigration...and Trump.

In the Washington Monthly blog post, What Trump Doesn't Understand About Immigration From Mexico, James P. Rooney argues that the construction of a large border wall between the United States and Mexico would not be efficient in preventing the flow of undocumented immigrants from Mexico. In the article, Rooney offers American policymakers different alternatives that they could take to curb illegal immigration.

Rooney's evidence is beyond sufficient in supporting his argument. He compares the current situation on the U.S.-Mexico border to the Israeli border wall, which has been unsuccessful in preventing the influx of Palestinian immigrants in search of work. Rooney also provides plenty of statistical evidence within the States that confirms the failure of the current border wall, as migrants have taken more dangerous routes through freight trains and dangerous terrain. He cites that over 6,000 hopeful immigrants have died in the Sonoran desert in order to avoid the wall. Rooney also provides multiple graphs that support his evidence and strengthen his overall argument.

Additionally, Rooney takes his argument a step further by proposing solutions. Rather than just bashing Trump and Republican policymakers for ignoring the evidence and jumping to conclusions, Rooney offers up some alternatives that could actually reduce illegal immigration that have been successful in the past. Statistics show that a majority of illegal immigrants are either seeking temporary work but are unable to obtain a work visa, or are seeking a permanent life in the United States but cannot obtain citizenship because they do not have family in the U.S. or do not possess a certain skill set. Rooney compares this to the situation to the U.S. response to the influx of illegal Cuban immigrants in the 1990's, where the number of Cubans who were let into a visa-granting lottery increased dramatically. Immediately, the number of undocumented Cuban immigrants dropped. Rooney also proposes expanding the temporary work visa program, which would also decrease the number of migrants seeking illegal entry into the United States.

Rooney is qualified to make this argument. He is a Boston attorney and the president of Massachusetts Citizens Against the Death Penalty. While his work isn't directly related to immigration, his experience as an attorney may have exposed him to immigration cases and it is likely that his education has qualified him to speak on such issues.

Rooney's blog post is an excellent introduction to the illegal immigration craze that has been rattled since Donald Trump promised during his campaign that he would build a wall stretching the U.S.-Mexico border once elected. Rooney's argument is well crafted and well supported. It refutes the claims made by the Trump administration simply by stating the facts and proposing a feasible solution that won't bust the budget and will actually work.