As the partial government shutdown drags on with no end in sight, many have spoken out in criticism of Trump’s border wall. The president continues to stand firm to his promise to continue the shutdown until Democrats reach a compromise in regards to border wall funding. As a result, many Americans remain out of work and many others will go without necessary food stamps this month. Among the many to criticize Trump are the border wall sheriffs themselves, according to Tuscan.com .
Both Democrat and Republican border wall sheriffs are offering their opinions regarding the shutdown and the division the term “wall” has caused across the nation. Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier believes that the term “wall” itself has taken on a power of its own, yielding negative connotations. The term has been so overused that the whole purpose of the barrier has lost its meaning through the heated controversy. “The term ‘the wall’ gets in the way a lot. It has become this semantic game of what is a wall. Let’s talk about border security, which part of it will be physical barriers, part of that will be technology and part of that will be human resources,” he said.
Border sheriffs say ‘the wall’ has become lightning rod of division https://t.co/WC33JEnTxV pic.twitter.com/FSaCEGdKiv
— Arizona Daily Star (@TucsonStar) January 17, 2019
The Southwestern Border Sheriff’s Coalition is currently working towards a very specific plan to increase security at the border. It will include an increased law enforcement presence at the border, as well as updated technology. Napier believes that the focus should be less on who wins the great border wall debate, and more on the safety of the American people as a whole. He urged the nation to stop pointing fingers and looking at the current crisis as political competition. “There’s enough blame to go around. The Democrats desperately want to win, the president desperately wants to win. But who should win is not the Republicans or the Democrats, but the American people,” he said.
However, not all border staffers agree with Napier. Some believe that there is only one person to blame — the president himself. Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada is the only Democrat among Arizona’s law enforcement team at the border. He hasn’t held back from voicing his frustration regarding the crisis, struggling to rationalize the situation. “It’s so ludicrous that everything is hinging on that magical wall,” he said.
“It’s completely absurd, reckless and of no common sense.”
While Estrada believes that the barrier wall might be a remedy for some aspects of the immigration crisis, it will do little to solve the overarching issue. He stands firm in his opinion that no physical structure will offer a quick-fix solution.
