《Science》Research Proposal

Research Idea Context:

The wall policy was announced during current US President Donald Trump’s
campaign in 2016. The core idea of that policy is to impede Mexican people from
illegally immigrating to the United States. Donald Trump promised to the public
that he would build a wall on the border line between the US and Mexico so that
low-skilled Mexicans would not be able to successfully cross the border and enter
the US.

The Democrats claimed Trump’s proposal to “build a wall” was very naive and
inefficient. Many Democrats want to create a “path to citizenship” so that the
“best and the brightest” have the opportunity to become citizens.

Although Trump himself says the wall has already been built, a section of it is
already falling apart. He probably won’t succeed in building a physical wall across
the US–Mexico border. But in terms of actual effects, whether he builds a wall or
not doesn't matter.

Research Focus:

Although the Mexican wall is not actually being built, in the digital age, the
abundant spread of news and tweets online is affecting people’s ideas and
behaviors. For this research, we are trying to explore the additional impact of the
news and media of the wall policy that bought to society.

As an example, after the policy was announced, it caused panic among Mexican
immigrants, who chose to cross the Mexican border to the United States sooner
rather than later, fearing that the wall, when built, would make illegal
immigration more difficult before the wall was actually built (a time when illegal
immigration was easier). So, if we compare the number of people who tried to
cross the Mexican border illegally during the Trump administration and during the
Obama administration, we will find that the number of people who tried to cross
the Mexican border illegally increased during the Trump administration, and each
significant increase in the number of people crossing can be correlated with
Trump’s announcements regarding “The Wall” on the internet.

Research Construction:

“The Wall” policy

During his four-year presidency

Spread on the internet

Impact

U.S. Society
First Hypothesis:
After Trump’s “The Wall” policy was announced, it attracted a lot of attention on the
internet over the course of his presidency (almost four years).

Second Hypothesis:
The internet trends resulting from “The Wall” policy influenced various aspects of society.