President Trump has pushed forward with his campaign promise to build a wall to help decrease the continued influx of illegal immigrants who enter the USA from Mexico. There are many who oppose this wall being built for reasons that they feel are important. There are others who support this wall being built for reasons that they feel are just as important. But the main question that I have is who benefits from this wall being built or not built?  

Let’s start with the American who used to be able to support his or her family by working in skilled trade jobs. The men, of all races, were able to become plumbers, masons, landscapers, roofers, construction workers, cooks, auto mechanics and a host of other skilled labor jobs. The women, of all races, were able to provide for their families as housekeepers, cooks, seamstress, caregivers and more. And of course, for the African Americans, these jobs were at times in America, the only jobs they could get, educated or not to support their families.  

As Black people in America, the influx of unauthorized immigrants from Mexico caused a major problem in regards to their livelihood and ability to provide a “decent living” financially for their family. The unemployment rate for the Black race in America as of December 2016 was 13.2% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compare this rate to the 6.8% for whites, 10% for Hispanics and 6.4% for Asians which had “little to no change” in their number of unemployed since November 2012.  

Pew Research Center reported in 2014 that an estimated 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the US based on government data. They stated “this population has remained essentially stable for five years after nearly two decades of changes.” The number has increased from 3.5 million in 1990 to 12.2 million in 2007. The US Department of Homeland Security reported there were 11.4 million unauthorized immigrants living in the US in January 2012 compared to 11.5 million in January 2011 and that these results suggested “little to no change” in the immigrant population.  

What do these numbers mean for American citizens? It means that there are possibly 11.3 million jobs that are being filled by unauthorized immigrants. Jobs that would decrease the number of unemployed American citizens who should be given these jobs FIRST. Jobs that would decrease the number of unemployed Black American Citizens who have the highest number of unemployment in the USA.  It means that jobs that our American teenagers and college students could get to earn that extra income that they need to decrease the urge to commit crimes, or to help decrease the financial burden from their parents, are not available to them anymore, why, because adult unauthorized immigrants are working at the fast food restaurants and other companies full-time so employers no longer feel the need to support our teen citizens.  

And how are these unauthorized immigrants able to get these jobs from American citizens?

Don’t they need a Social Security Card to work in America? Yes, they sure do. But guess what? These “working” unauthorized immigrants are given “working” Social Security numbers. How do I know this? Because when I was working with the Job and Family Services I saw them and copied them and put them in their case file records. These unauthorized immigrants are allowed to work and get full benefits from the “system” without their income being counted fully in the budget. Yeah, that’s right. They get full benefits in food stamps and Medicaid and cash for their American children that they had while living in the USA as an unauthorized immigrant.

You, my American citizen will have ALL of your income used in the “system” which will most likely make you “over income” for any “welfare” benefits. You want to get food stamps for your children without having to “work” for it? You want to get cash benefits for your children without having to “work” for it? You want to get Medicaid free for you to have your child in America without having to “work” for it? Just be an unauthorized immigrant living in America who either arrived here pregnant or became pregnant while here and go to your local Job & Family Services office and sign up. So who will the “Trump wall” benefit? In my opinion it will benefit the unemployed American worker, especially the Black unemployed worker. It will benefit the American citizen whose taxes are paying for the free benefits that the unauthorized immigrants are receiving due to their children being born in the USA. It’s time that we as American Citizens think about the welfare of our own citizens in regards to this issue.