Talking About Politics: Does the Recent Seizure of 924 Lbs of Illegal Drugs at the Texas Border Prove Trump is Right About a Border Wall?

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Customs and Border Protection officers in Pharr, TX display the 384 packages of meth taken from a tractor-trailer at a border crossing point at the International Bridge between the U.S. and Mexico. Photo Credit: Customs and Border Protection
On Quora, Don Morgan, a Trump supporter, asks:

Is the discovery and seizure of 384 packages of methamphetamine weighing 924 pounds worth $18.5 million proof that our borders need to be strongly controlled as claimed by President Trump?


My response:

Considering that the tractor-trailer carrying $18.5 million worth of meth was stopped at a border checkpoint at the International Bridge by the Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations in Pharr, Texas, I would have to say No.
From CBP’s official press release:
Release Date:
May 21, 2019
PHARR, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Pharr International Bridge intercepted a significant amount of methamphetamine in a commercial shipment worth $18.5 million this past weekend.
“This is truly a huge, notable interception of hard narcotics accomplished by our frontline officers in the cargo environment,” said Port Director Sylvia Briones, Port of Hidalgo/ Pharr/ Anzalduas. “Our officers’ mindset and dedication is genuinely apparent as evidenced by this outstanding seizure.”
CBP officers assigned to the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo facility on May 17, 2019 referred a tractor/trailer pulling a commercial shipment of fresh carrots for further inspection. A secondary examination, which included the utilization of (non-intrusive imaging equipment), a (canine team) together with hands-on work resulted in the discovery of 384 packages of alleged methamphetamine discovered within the trailer. The total weight of the drugs is 929.5 pounds (421.5 kg). (CBP Field Operations at Pharr International Bridge Interdicts Colossal Load of Methamphetamine Worth Over $18 Million)
While this incident illustrates a harsh reality that most Trump supporters either ignore or distort, i.e., that most undocumented immigrants and illegal drugs enter the U.S. via legal Ports of Entry (border crossing points, airports, and seaports), it does not mean that a border wall will prevent drug cartels from importing illegal drugs or people from seeking better lives in the U.S. even if they do so by circumventing a long and expensive legal immigration process.
Even if Trump and his xenophobic supporters somehow manage to get funding for (and build) a border wall, it will not stop illegal drugs from entering the U.S., nor will it deter all but the weakest-willed immigrants from trying to get into what used to be considered the “great American melting pot” even if it means bypassing a process that literally can drag on for 10 or more years.

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