Jan 31, 2019 3 min read

Americans are increasingly split over a wide range of issues nowadays, and no better example of that divide is – literally and figuratively – the wall.

It seems that the immigration debate has become a flashpoint for arguments, but unlike a proverbial wall that places people on one side or the other, this issue isn’t an either-or situation.

That was illustrated by a group of Washington & Jefferson College students that traveled to the Sonoran Desert where the southern border between California and Arizona meets Mexico. The students visited the border earlier this month in the midst of the longest partial-government shutdown in the history of the country.

“The border looks different in different places, and the use of the term ‘wall’ is misleading,” said W&J associate professor Jason Kilgore, who led the students on the trip. “I think ‘barrier’ is becoming a better term, because some of these barriers are more permeable to water. Some are more permeable to certain kinds of wildlife, and some are more permeable to people.”

While the effectiveness of a border wall to keep people from entering the country is questionable, the potential damage it could have on the environment is not. The use of an impenetrable border wall could adversely affect the desert’s ecology, specifically animal migration patterns, some of which are endangered species. Meanwhile, the Rio Grande waterway creates a whole other issue to how any barrier would even be erected.

There’s also the financial aspect of not only building a wall, but also maintaining it.

But the students also learned that immigration goes far beyond a border wall.

The group witnessed federal court proceedings related to Operation Streamline, a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice that adjudicates as many defendants as possible in a short period of time. The defendants are able to understand the proceedings by listening to an interpreter speaking Spanish through headphones, but migrants who speak indigenous languages that are not Latin-based are at a disadvantage.

“They are basically asked if they plead not guilty or guilty to entering the U.S. illegally, and most of the time they plead guilt and take whatever punishment is given,” sophomore Kailee Havdra said.

This process has been happening for 14 years, and it’s a program that most Americans don’t even know exists.

But the most stunning revelation for the students was likely the human toll that these dangerous crossings take on the people who brave it in order to find a better life. The students found memorial crosses places at the foot of one section of the border wall in honor of those who didn’t make it. They legally placed much-needed supplies, including water jugs, first-aid kids, food packs, sockets and even blankets, in specific locations that may ultimately save the lives of those who are crossing the desert.

“It’s heartbreaking hearing these stories, that people would give up everything to cross and just be caught right on the spot,” said sophomore Kenneth Jimenez, whose mother was born in Central America’s El Salvador.

These students learned that immigration – illegal and otherwise – isn’t a black and white issue. Just like any other complex issue, there are nuances that people must educate themselves on first to have a full picture on what is happening in the country.

A simple slogan to “build the wall” doesn’t tell the full story of immigration. Nor does it set the tone for a serious debate on the issue.