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Dear Ms. ********,
Thank you for contacting my office to share your thoughts on President Trump’s planned border wall. This is an important issue and I am thankful for the opportunity to reply.
America’s borders are in jeopardy. Thousands of people cross into our country illegally every day — though that number has dropped since President Trump took office — and drugs, weapons, and crime all come in, too. Without clearly-defined and well-secured borders, we will never be as secure as we should be. Crime in border communities is rampant, human trafficking is a growing industry, and disturbing reports have come from the Middle East, saying ISIS operatives are crossing over the southern border. Our country’s need for a strong, secure border is greater than ever.
Jobs that would normally go to American citizens now often go to illegal immigrants. That hurts the economy, and cheats American workers out of jobs. Many illegal aliens then send their earnings back across the border, which further harms our economy. In 2014, Mexico alone received $24.4 billion in remittances.
President Obama’s disastrous instructions to ICE officials and the Department of Homeland Security made border security much worse — but he did, however, authorize Congress to fund the construction of walls and fencing along America’s southern border.
Rather than President Obama’s plan for a dinky and ineffective fence, President Trump dreams big, and has frequently spoken about his desire for a “big, beautiful wall.” This wall — as well as the “beautiful door” within that wall — is a great idea. The wall will help to stem the tide of illegal aliens crossing the border. The wall will help protect American workers’ jobs, and workers’ ability to find jobs. The wall will quickly and significantly reduce some of the threats America faces: violent cartels; large-scale importation and distribution of drugs (and an increase in violent crime); the exploitation of vulnerable women and children; a massively overburdened welfare system that’s been pushed to its breaking point.
It’s hard to Make America Great Again without first defining America — and it’s hard to do that without securing and protecting our borders.
America will always be a land of opportunity for those who come here legally. America rewards hard work, and loves to see people succeed — but it’s time we stopped rewarding every scofflaw who sneaks across the border without getting caught. Crossing the border doesn’t make you into an American — it makes you a criminal. It’s time we stopped rewarding criminals.
When the wall is built, America will be stronger and safer, and American workers in the border states will get a fairer shake than they have in decades. Not only will construction of the wall generate jobs, the money we spend on it will be worth every penny. The costs of building the wall have been estimated to be anywhere between $10 and $20 billion. I know that’s a lot of money. But consider this: illegal immigration costs the country, on average, around $270 billion per year. Yep, you read that right: 270 billion dollars of your money goes to waste every year because we didn’t want to crack down on people who entered our country illegally. Why not? Clearly they don’t respect our laws. If they did, they would come in legally.
President Trump loves legal immigration — as should we all, because legal immigration is one of the things that makes our country great. But illegal immigration is something else entirely. Why should we reward criminals for breaking the law?
This is why I am proud to have co-sponsored H.R. 1813, “The Border Wall Funding Act of 2017.” This legislation would impose a 2% tax on all money sent (via Western Union and the like) to Mexico, as well as other Central and South American countries. It is estimated that this would generate up to 900 million dollars per year. This simple, common-sense legislation will help offset the cost of the wall, and will let us get down to the business of protecting our borders quickly and effectively.
In July of 2017, the House voted on the Make America Secure Appropriations Act, which passed with my support. This bill sets funding levels for the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other agencies. It also includes funding for the construction of the border wall. I was proud to vote for it, and glad it passed.
I recently cosponsored called the Border Wall Trust Fund Act. Current law prohibits American citizens from making contributions to the federal government. H.R. 5876 would allow money to be deposited to fund the planning and construction of the wall along our southern border. There is still much work to be done to secure our nation’s borders, but this is a common-sense step in the right direction. If our citizens wish to contribute to the safety of their fellow Americans, then they absolutely should be able to do so.
Progress is being made – in October, Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security unveiled the newest portions of the wall in Calexico, California. This wall stands 30-feet tall and is a tangible step in the right direction towards securing our nation’s border. I hope progress continues being made for this wall and will work to help fund its completion.
As you know, we are currently dealing with one-quarter of the government being shutdown due to the Democrats’ inability to agree on funding for the wall. I firmly stand for keeping the government shutdown until funding is in place to make our border more secure. I hope you see my perspective and the urgency I feel to follow through on the promises we’ve made to you.
Thank you again for reaching out to me — I am honored to be your representative in Congress.
If you’d like to stay informed of the issues I am voting on, and the issues that impact northwest Florida, I encourage you to sign up for my weekly e-newsletter at http://Gaetz.house.gov!
Sincerely,
Matt Gaetz
Member of Congress
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