As per usual, President Trump is provoking division with his continual insistence of a wall on the Mexican border, something he claims is necessary in the name of national security. The repercussions of this have been displayed in our most recent government shutdown, something that comes of no surprise considering that he is someone who, when announcing his run for office, openly described Mexican immigrants as drug dealers, criminals and rapists.
Most recently, Trump has attempted to base his argument for the wall on human trafficking, by stating that it would aid in combatting the issue. However, his comments regarding his depiction of human trafficking at the border, in which he has described as a situation of women being bound and forcibly brought across the border are most definitely misleading.
According to experts, most victims of human trafficking get into the situation most often through the use of threats to the person’s family, with the majority coming into the country through legal means.
While Trump’s depiction is not an impossible one, it is definitely unlikely and his proposed solution of a wall would probably have little effect on combatting human trafficking. However, he is unlikely to admit this bit as it would debunk the image of the wall being the cure-all to every negative thing happening in the country, something he needs his supporters to keep believing.
It’s nothing new for politicians to attach themselves to a cause and it’s certainly not new for Trump to be less than honest. The fact that he is trying to politicize an issue as sensitive as this is a new low and can no longer just be explained away as ignorance.
While I never expected Trump to become a champion of women’s rights considering his own history of offensive comments as well as allegations made against him, I never thought that our country could reach the point where victims of sexual violence are used as a pawn to further oneself politically.
The worst part of this is that much is lost from perpetuating this misleading narrative. It closes the door to necessary conversations that could lead to real solutions, something that victims deserve.