Mary Holton

Joyce Barnes

ENG 1201

October 27, 2019

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

My research topic is the U.S.-Mexican border wall. Will it do what the president and his

supporters say? Will it stop the influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico and curb the Mexican

Cartel’s drug trade?

In the article, Immigration Policy, Val Ellicott examines the overwhelming numbers that U.S.

Immigrations deal with daily. The wall has not deterred the number of immigrants trying to get

into our country.

Ellicott, Val. "IMMIGRATION POLICY." CQ Researcher. 22 July 2019. http://library.cqpress.com/

In an article written by Anna Getmansky, Guy Grossman and Austin L. Wright they made a

compelling article comparing our border wall and Israel’s. Their investigation into the crime in

Israel before the West Bank wall and now does raise some very concerning questions about

how effective the U.S.-Mexico border wall will be.

Getmansky, Anna, Grossman, Guy, Wright, Austin L.

"Will a U.S.-Mexico border wall reduce crime? Here's what we know from Israel’s West

Bank." 9 October 2019. Washingtonpost.com. http://go-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org.

I also tried to find evidence, clear evidence, as to why the government is so split down the

middle on this issue. In this article by Ted Hesson, which looked at the conflict between the two

political parties very objectively. I found it interesting how each of those involved came out of

the negotiations with a different definition of what material would be used for the wall. ICE’s

threat about releasing criminal aliens was very disturbing as well.

Hesson, Ted. Politico. 12 2 2019.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/12/border-security-spending-deal-1163709

Cameron Stewart, Washington correspondent for The Australian National, gives a very unbiased

accounting of what the points that divide Washington in half are. There were several points

that led up to the government shut down in January 2019, but one of the main points of

contention was the border wall.

Stewart, Cameron. "BORDER WALL STONEWALL."

Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints. Australia: News Limited, 12 January 2019.

http://go-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org

As I have researched this topic one thing as become clearer to me. This debate is not just about

immigrants and drugs. It also must deal with the affect the wall will have, or already is having

on the environment. Melissa del Bosque writes in graphic details the affects the wall is already

causing in some border communities. Some of the issues are due to the placement of the

concrete walls.

del Bosque, Melissa. "Back to the Wall."

 Texas Monthly December 2018: 58-72. https://www.texasmonthly.com.

Another article I found also discussed the wild life that will be affected by the wall. Francisco

Lara-Valencia, Arizona State University and Margaret Wilder, University of Arizona, bring up all

the possible effects the wall will have on the environment. They bring up the affect this will

have on numerous species, especially those on the endangered species list.

Lara-Valencia, Francisco, Wilder, Margaret.

"Jump It, Climb It, Dig It for the Environment: Meddling with Trump's Border Wall."

Journal of Latin American Geography 17.3 (2018): 258-261. Journal.

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/708954

I also found two additional issues that need to be explored.

The first is discussed by Michael Dear in his book, Why Walls Won’t work: Repairing the US-

Mexico Divide. Michael Dear, a professor of City and Regional Planning in the College of

Environmental at the University of California-Berkeley, writes about how the wall will not work

due to a “third nation” along the border. This was a concept/issue I had never heard of before,

but it adds another dimension to the battle over the wall. One of the examples he mentions is

that there are Indian Reservations along the border that spread across the border into the

United States and Mexico. This will affect a group of people that have already lost so much.

Dear, M.J. (Michael J.). Why Walls Won't Work: Repairing the US-Mexico Divide.

Oxford University Press, 2013.

The last issue I found that I had not expected is the idea that the building of the wall is racially

motivated. Mark Karlin addresses this in an article he wrote. I found this article very disturbing.

I understand that most illegals are not trying to get rich, they just want to make a living that will

support their families. The idea he suggests that some Americans are trying to keep those who

have brown skin in a poverty-stricken country is a scary thought.

Karlin, Mark. "Fencing the Southern Border of the United States Reflects American Racism."

Ed. Louise Gerdes. Gale, a Cengage Company, 1 January 2014

http://go-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org