1. Holan, Angie Drobnic, ed.

"DONALD TRUMP SAYS OF COURSE MEXICO CAN PAY

FOR WALL -- Because Of The Trade Deficit." News Bank. N.p., 26 Jan. 2016. Web. 22
Mar. 2017.

One big issue with Donald Trumps proposal to build a wall on the border between the

US and Mexico is the cost of the project. Trump claims that Mexico will pay for the wall.

However, the current Mexican President has made an official statement that Mexico will not be

paying for a wall to be built. Estimations for this project have been between 5 billion and 25

billion dollars to complete and that does not include maintenance and other costs associated with

the wall. This project will be a tremendous cost to our economy we need to discover if it will

beneficial to endure this financial burden for security from illegal immigrants.

In this article Trump is quoted stating, When they say, 'but Mexico can't pay for the

wall,' I say of course they can. He believes that Mexico will pay for the wall based on the trade

deficit. In 2014 the US bought $50 billion more goods from Mexico than Mexico did from the

US. This means that we are a huge part of their economy. However, this is not a reason that

mexico can pay for the wall because that trade deficit is not just sitting around somewhere in

Mexico. Also the trade deficit has nothing to do with the Mexican government because a trade

deficit is created by trade between businesses not the Mexican government.

Because this article was released during the presidential race, the intended audience in

this article is most likely potential voters. The author has very little voice in the article. He/she is

simply relaying facts and quotes from Donald Trump. The author also uses direct quotes from

professors and scholars. These sources give the paper credibility.

It's not like there is $54 billion sitting around somewhere in Mexico, like a magic pile of

dollars, that could be used to build a wall

 Media reports we saw to complete such a wall ranged from $5.1 billion to $25 billion -

plus additional costs to maintain it

From an engineering standpoint, it's possible to do it. But the cost would be enormous,

and it would be more efficient to invest in equipment or staff, he said.

Reflection: Overall this article is very relevant to my question because it

answers the question of how President Trump plans to pay for the wall, the

cost of building the wall, and some possible flaws in the plan in many

professional opinions. This article was difficult to read based on the strange

spacing of the paragraphs and the short one sentence paragraphs. This

article could be helpful to anyone pursuing this topic because it answers

many important questions. Though it is very helpful the reader must keep in

mind that the writer of this article is biased toward a liberal point of view.

He/she most likely believes that the wall should not be built therefore many

of the sources in the text shared the same view.

2. Johnson, Jeh Charles. "Know the Facts about the Dangers of Illegal Migration." Know the
Facts about the Dangers of Illegal Migration | Homeland Security. N.p., 25 Aug. 2015.
Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

Know the Facts about the Dangers of Illegal Migration, discusses the safety of illegally

crossing the US and Mexican border. The author begins with a story about a boy that was found.

He was severely dehydrated as a result of the summer heat. Though the boy later died, this story

is meant to remind readers of the dangers of making the trek from central american countries

through mexico and then illegally into the United States. In the article he said, Know the facts

before you gamble with your childs life. The article later goes on to talk about the coyotes
aggressive and abusive tendencies toward the women who are traveling. Coyotes are smugglers

of illegal immigrants across the US-Mexican border. One woman said, her experience at a stash

house was the worst part of the journey. She now warns others: Don't believe everything the

Coyotes say because they tell you a different story than what is reality. Reality is really hard.

Each traveler pays thousands of dollars to these coyotes. However, they are mistreated by them

as well.

The article later goes on to talk about the legal ways of gaining entry into the US. The

author urges the reader to look into legal entry not only because of safety but also because of the

benefits it provides once you are granted entry into the US. In a new law, anyone apprehended

crossing our border illegally after January 1, 2014 is a top priority for deportation, regardless of

age. This is just one more reason to legally gain entry into the United States. If you do

successfully cross the border you then must go in hiding. As opposed to legal immigration where

you are accepted into the country and can legally contribute to society.

Jonathans journey to the United States ended tragically. Dont subject your child

to the risk of the same fate.

Don't believe everything the Coyotes say because they tell you a different story

than what is reality. Reality is really hard

Reflection: This article relates to my question well because it includes

an eyewitness account of the brutality of the coyotes who smuggle people

across the border. If the wall were to be built then many coyotes would not

be able to smuggle these people across the border. That would cut down on

the brutality. However, there are other ways of getting around the wall such

as going under it or around it completely. Though there are other ways of

illegal immigration when the wall is built, it will encourage legal immigration.

This much safer route will save countless lives and countless more from the

abuse of the coyotes. My favorite quote from this article is, Jonathans

journey to the United States ended tragically. Dont subject your child to the

risk of the same fate. Overall this article was easy to read and flowed well,

all while presenting good information. The author, Jeh Johnson, works in

homeland security so he has credibility in this area.

3. Bolstad, Erika. "Trump's Wall Could Cause Serious Environmental Damage." Scientific

American (2017): n. pag. Web. 6 Apr. 2017.

Trumps Wall Could Cause Serious Environmental Damage, is primarily about the

effects that construction of a wall on the border between the US and Mexico will have on the

environment. Bolstad, the author of the article, uses many other sources to improve her

credibility. However, many of these sources are biased. One source she talked to was, program

manager with the Sierra Club's Borderlands project, Dan Mills. One of his main concerns with

the building of the wall is the mixing of the concrete. The process of mixing the concrete to build

the wall causes a massive release of greenhouse gasses. This process spread out throughout our

border with mexico will cause an increase in greenhouse gasses furthering the climate change.

Another source used in the Trumps Wall Could Cause Serious Environmental Damage,

is the executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, Kieran Suckling. She is an expert

in the biological and environmental effects of urbanization. Her main concern with the project is

the erosion and flooding it will cause in border communities of both the US and Mexican side of

the wall. The wall will not allow proper drainage because it will block natural runoff. Also, the
wall will act as a road block for migration patterns of animals. This is already seen in the current

border fence. However, this fence is not complete and there are ways around it. With the large

concrete wall there will be thousands of miles of continuous wall that will completely shut off

migration of animals like wolves, ocelots, and jaguars. These predators need space to roam and

hunt in order to survive. This project could decimate the environment located near the US and

Mexican border. Kieran Suckling biased view can be seen by the comment, Like many of

Trump's ideas, this one has nothing to do with reality. This bias has influenced her assessment

of the dangers of this project. However, her points are valid when boiled down to facts.

The embodied energy of creation is one thing, and that has detrimental impacts from a

climate perspective. But also the embodied energy from the social perspective. The

aspects of building walls separates and directs flow.

"In terms of climate adaptation, building a border wall is an act of self-sabotage," said

Dan Millis

"The embodied energy of creation is one thing, and that has detrimental impacts from a

climate perspective. But also the embodied energy from the social perspective. The

aspects of building walls separates and directs flow."

Reflection: Bolstads target audience is any reader interested in this

topic such as, Politicians, voters, and environmental activists. This article

gives me great perspective on my topic because I am interested in the

effects of the construction of the wall on the environment. This is a turning

point in my opinion of the project. This article is very helpful to others

researching this same topic because I believe that environmental health is

important to all of us. This article has influential points that could sway any
readers who are on the fence about this project. The authors bias is seen

through the sources she uses. She does not agree with the project to build

the wall.

4. Goins-Phillips, Tre. "Trump and Mexican president agree to cease public statements about

border wall." The Blaze. N.p., 27 Jan. 2017. Web. 6 Apr. 2017.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly made statements about how the construction of a

wall on the border between the US and Mexico will be funded. And he has repeatedly stated that

Mexico will pay for the project. He claims that the trade deficit between the US and Mexico will

be the source of the funds. However, that cannot be used to fund the project because the trade

deficit includes all businesses in the private sector. The Mexican president has responded with

statements saying that Mexico will not be paying for the wall. The author later quotes Donald

Trump speaking about the failures of the past Presidents. He claims that the issues we are facing

with illegal immigration are a result of the lack of action of past leaders. Trump said, Were no

longer going to be the country that doesnt know what its doing,Also because of recent

disagreements on this topic President Nieto has canceled a scheduled meeting between himself

and President Trump. The two leaders later scheduled a meeting where they discussed the trade

deficit and the need to stop transportation of illegal drugs and weapons across the border. The

main emphasis for this meeting was to ensure that the two countries remain friends.

Goins-Phillips, the author, targeted this article toward any reader curious about the

standing between the US and Mexico. Goins-Phillips uses direct quotes from both President

Trump and President Nieto to emphasize the credibility of the article. This source relates to the

border wall because it clearly shows a quote that President Nieto is agreeing that the transport of
illegal drugs and weapons across the border is hurting the US economy and funding cartels in

Mexico. It is in both our countries interests to come up with a course of action which will stop

the movement of illegal substances and the funding of the violent cartels which move these

items.

Reflection: Gonis-Phillips writes this article in a very easy to read style

because he clearly lays out the facts and the quotes from both parties. As a

result of his bias he does not agree with everything that President Trump is

speaking about. However, in this article he is very neutral. This project is

very relevant to all Mexican and American citizens because the building of

this wall will affect their lives directly. I would recommend this article to

anyone who is also researching this topic because it shows how high the

tensions are between the two countries at the moment as a result of this

project.

The two leaders discussed the trade deficit the U.S. has with Mexico, the

friendship between the two nations and the need to quell the flow of illegal drugs

and weapons across the southern border.

both Trump and Pea Nieto have agreed to cease public statements about payment

for the wall

During a joint press conference with Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday,

Trump was asked about the call and he described a very, very friendly

discussion with Pea Nieto. However, he stood firm on his vow to be tough with

Mexico when it comes to trade.

Ive said time and again; Mexico wont pay for any wall, he concluded.
5. GlobalToronto. YouTube. YouTube, 25 Jan. 2017. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

This video from Youtube.com is a recording of Donald Trumps speech regarding his

most recent executive order. In this executive order he has officially started preparations to begin

building the wall on the border between the US and Mexico. In his speech, Donald trump tells us

of the benefits of the wall. He claims that the building of a border wall will reduce violence,

cartels, weapons, drugs and crime. In his executive order he also tells us that the catch and

release policy at the border will no longer be in effect. Meaning that when illegal immigrants are

caught trying to cross the border, the border patrol will likely hold them or turn them into the

Mexican government, rather than releasing them. This order also adds 5000 border patrol

officers. Growing the size of border patrol is crucial for finding and removing illegal immigrants.

The final piece of the order states that we will be tripling the size of ICE. This is very helpful in

keeping our country safe from illegal immigrants.

Trump later goes on to individually apologize to the families of those killed by illegal

immigrants. He uses this to gain sympathy from his listeners and alert them the problem. He is

the President of the United States of America. This alone gives him credibility and respect.

However, he also refers to other officials in government to back up his own opinions. He is

obviously biased toward his own opinion. He believes that all immigrants are bad when that is

just not the case. He does have good points however when it comes to controlling the amount of

illegal drugs guns and cartels are in our country. This is an important benefit to the building of

the wall.

The movement of illegal migrants are hurting both Mexico and the United States.

Beginning today the US gets back control of its borders.

 Were going to get them out, were going to get them out fast and John Kelly is going to

lead that way

Reflection: This video will be very useful to my topic because it is a first

hand account of what President Trump plans to do about the illegal

immigration problem. It is very easy to listen to and understand because he

talks so slow. Also he shows his bias early when he talks about the harm that

illegal migrants do to our country. Though some may be murderers and

rapists but the majority are just nice people looking for a better life for their

family. This is one very apparent flaw in his argument. Overall this is very

relevant to my topic and will be a great source to talk about in my thesis.

Anyone else researching this topic should also watch this video it is

informative and give a great source for anyone researching the pros and

cons of building the wall.

6. Bradatan, Costica. "Scaling the 'Wall in the Head" The New York Times. The New York Times,

27 Nov. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

In Scaling the Wall in Head, the author, Costica Bradatan writes about the

psychological effects that a wall has on the people that it protects and the people that it protects

from. Bradatan lived in germany at the time of the cold war when the berlin wall was still in

effect. She tells about her experiences during that time. She later moves on to talk about the

feeling of safety that comes with the building of the wall. She wrote, Walls protect people not

from barbarians, but from anxieties and fears, which can often be more terrible than the worst

vandals. She realizes the calming effect and the peace of mind that a wall brings. She later goes

on to discuss the effects on those that the wall is made to keep out. She says that it creates a
sense of desirability. As though all we want is what we cant have. Though our country is often

desired very highly the building of this wall will be a huge benefit to us. We will be able to

charge more for our goods and services which will boost our economy and hopefully help pay

back the immense debt we will acquire from this project.

The author has credibility as a psychologist and as a former victim of the berlin wall. She

knows first hand what it is like to live behind a wall where you just want to reach the other side.

Also as a journalist for the New York Times she automatically has credibility because of the

prestigious work of that news paper. Her article is easy to read and has many good quotes that

can be used as support for building the wall.

The germans who seem to have a name for everything, use the phrase Mauer im Kapf

(Wall in head)

What a wall satisfies is not so much a material need but a mental one

It is a way of putting things in more tempting light, of making them more desirable. This

is all a game of teasing and seduction.

Reflection: This article will be very useful to my inquiry project because

of its relevance to the psychology of being stuck behind a wall. The fact that

it often makes the area which is being protected more desireable, is a very

strong pro for the the project. This pro could boost our economy and put us

in the driver's seat for many negotiations throughout the world. Though the

author is biased she shows the facts very well citing other psychologists on

the topic. This furthers her credibility and strengthens her argument. I would

recommend this article to anyone who is researching this topic because of its

neutral point of view and its strong points.

7. Drew, Kate, and Special To CNBC.com. "Donald Trump's controversial border wall could cost

upwards of $15 billion." CNBC. CNBC, 26 Jan. 2017. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

Kate Drew, the author of This is What Trumps Border Wall Could Cost, writes about

the projected cost of this project. She cites the berlin wall as a source of previous costly walls.

However, the berlin wall was only 96 miles long. Whereas the US and Mexican border is over

2000 miles. The cost of this wall could be tremendous. She also cites the current fence that was

built in 2006. She writes, According to a Government Accountability Office 2009 report, the

cost to build 1 mile of fencing at the border averaged between $2.8 million and $3.9 million.

This was just the fence that covers half the border currently. This fence will be torn down and

replaced with a wall that will cost more per mile and be more harmful to the environment.

Drews credibility comes from the sources she uses and the facts that she states

about the costs of building the past walls. Her writing is easy to read and informative because of

the spacing between paragraphs. Overall she is biased but does a great job of avoiding that bias.

She believes that the wall is too expensive and should not be built. But she subtly lists the facts

and mostly avoids using her own opinion as a reason why the wall should not be built. She lets

the numbers speak for themselves. This article is targeted to any reader who is curious about the

costs of building the wall.

The actual cost for the rest of the border wall (roughly 1,300 miles) could be as high as

$16 million per mile, with a total price tag of $15 billion to $25 billion.

The U.S. government would have to pay to maintain the wall, which could cost as much

as $750 million a year, according to an analysis conducted by Politico. And then if it

 wanted to man it with personnel, that would be an additional cost border patrol has an

operating budget of $1.4 billion for 21,000 agents.

the Berlin Wall spanned just 96 miles comparatively, and it cost about $25 million to

build in 1961, or around $200 million with inflation.

Reflection: The author, Kate Drew, is writing about the costs and

benefits of building the border wall. The final conclusion is that it will cost

between $15 billion to $25 billion. That doesnt include the maintenance

costs. She also addresses the cost of maintaining the wall and the cost to

pay border patrol. I plan to use these numbers to support the claim that the

wall will be too costly to our country. Aso I would recommend this article to

anyone researching this topic because of its importance and relevance to the

decision to build the wall or to not build the wall.