It’s entirely possible that Jonah Goldberg missed my objections to a border fence. But I kind of doubt it:
I’ve gotten mostly kudos for my USA Today piece on building a wall. But, understandably, a few folks disagree. What I find kind of amazing is how there are so few arguments against the wall, other than the symbolism thing. As I said in the piece, I think the symbolism argument is a good and legitimate one. But it pretty much stands alone. Some say it can’t be done, but we know that’s not true. Others say it’s too expensive. But one gets the sense that even if it were cheaper, they wouldn’t favor a wall. Some rightly note that it wouldn’t be fool-proof. Okay. So it would only reduce illegal entry into the United States by a really big percentage.
My argument against the wall is two-fold. First, it is unnecessary. Illegal immigration was shut down prior to 1965 without one. Second, it can be used to keep Americans in as easily as it is used to keep illegal immigrants out. Given to whom the Congress and the Cherry Blossom Throne are soon to be handed, I don’t think it is wise to discount that second point.