“No” to an EB-6 to build “The Wall”
I was appalled when my attention was brought to an article on Breitbart.com by David Hirson, ESQ. and Ali Jahangiri of EB5 Investors Magazine. I have the greatest of respect for the authors and I think my first shock was the forum selected for the publication of this article. My next jolt was the content of the article.[1]
I am fundamentally opposed to a concept of an EB-6 category with the primary objective of building “The Wall.”
The actual practicality and functionality of a Wall has been repeatedly questioned—with the strongest criticisms being that the wall would be expensive and ineffective in preventing illegal immigration. The “Wall” was considered to be campaign rhetoric that was not realistic and that even many of Trump’s supporters did not really want built. More importantly, the Wall has come to symbolize racism and division. During the last election, the noun– “The Wall “ became an adjective, that was hurled around by school children intent on bullying others. From the birth of this nation in 1776, America has been based on fundamental ideals. While Europe dismissed this country as classless, uncivilized and likely to fail, America become a shining light for all the world by accepting the paradigms of Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, Kennedy, and Dr. King.
EB-5 is, and any EB-6 program would be, foremost an immigration program. Using the money of immigrants to build a “Wall” is not a principle that we as EB-5 stakeholders should even consider. America’s reputation and attractiveness to people around the world has been built over decades. Yes, our country has made its mistakes, but the sincerity of our attempts to promote freedom and liberty and to be a positive influence on the world stage has rarely been doubted.
This EB-6 proposal comes across as a cheap and craven attempt to cash in on the strength and reputation our forbearers worked so hard to earn. Though I sincerely doubt it, maybe it is possible to convince immigrants to pay $1 million dollars to fund a massive physical symbol of hatred towards immigrants. Presumably the messaging is that the symbol of hate is not directed towards people of your ethnicity….. for now. Sowing such divisiveness and dividing ethnicities in such a blatant away is fundamentally un-American and will only make our country weaker in the long-run. We should not be sacrificing our country’s reputation, sense of community, and acceptance of one another for what we perceive to be in our own short-term financial interests.
Remember, much of the country was and is against the Trump administration. While we should obviously recognize that he won a free and fair election and work with his administration where we are in common agreement, we should not be so short-sighted as to alienate the people that strongly oppose the message that building the wall would send. Think, do we really want to be in the news daily as the program that funded the wall as massive protests occur against it? If we show ourselves to be so craven and lacking in fundamental principles, then critics of the E-5 program will be loaded with ammunition should the balance of power ever shift. And as visa numbers can be given, they can also be taken away.
[1]http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/02/10/hirson-and-jahangiri-instead-of-pressuring-mexican-president-pena-nieto-we-have-a-solution-to-fund-the-u-s-mexico-wall/