The President of the United States delivered the State of the Union. It has been the talk of the town over the last few days--as the President just finished a few Twitter "thoughts" within the past hour.
I decided to reach out to my local Congressman, Harley Rouda, to get his views of it. I realize that such is "standardized", but it is still worth noting as the negotiations continue--I can't help but wonder if such actions are in vain:
I decided to reach out to my local Congressman, Harley Rouda, to get his views of it. I realize that such is "standardized", but it is still worth noting as the negotiations continue--I can't help but wonder if such actions are in vain:
Dear Mike, Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns regarding the President’s proposal to build a wall along our southern border. As your representative, I need to know what issues affect you in order to serve you best. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond. As you may know, the number of unauthorized crossings along our southern border with Mexico has fallen dramatically since the early 2000s. According to United States Customs and Border Protection, in 2000, about 1.6 million unauthorized migrants crossed the border into the United States. By 2017, that number had fallen nearly 80% to about 300,000 unauthorized border crossings. Like you, I believe building a wall along the entirety of our southern border would be a massive waste of taxpayer dollars and send the wrong message to the world about America’s values. Construction of a wall as proposed would result in the seizure of private property from thousands of citizens and have destructive effects on the environment. A wall would also prevent us from considering other, more effective proposals to secure the border, like the use of modern technology to enhance vehicle screenings at ports of entry, higher numbers of immigration judges to process asylum claims, and more effective tracking of visa overstays, which account for nearly half of the undocumented population in the United States. Rest assured, as this or similar issues are considered in Congress, I will keep your views in mind. Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me about this important issue. Your comments help me better represent the people of the 48th District. Please stay in touch, and if you need any further assistance, do not hesitate to contact me through my website rouda.house.gov or call my Washington, DC office at (202) 225-2415. If you would like to receive periodic updates, follow us on Facebook as well as Twitter.
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