Recently, the Washington Post ran a piece in its Political Analysis section asking the question, “Would a wall have kept Kate Steinle’s killer out of the country?” The answer: those who support a wall on the southern border are “white nationalists.”
Huh? We’ll the Post’s argument goes something like this….
According to a 2006 analysis by Pew Research “as much as” 45 percent of the illegal alien population overstayed a visa. The Post says that signals a shift in the way in which illegal aliens are entering the U.S., so a border wall is a bad investment. Walls are expensive, and they only stop entrants without inspection (EWIs), not visa overstays.
We’re not sure how the Post did the math on that one but that would mean a majority of the illegal alien population snuck over the border. And it’s a pretty reasonable assumption that a 30 foot wall would have kept most of those folks out of the United States.
In any case, the supporting evidence gets even more attenuated. The Post notes that most contraband entering the United States passes through ports-of-entry in passenger vehicles or tractor trailers. The intimation seems to be that because unlawful goods go through border checkpoints, illegal aliens must do so, too.
Of course, analogizing the manner in which people cross the border to the way in which goods make their transit is a classic apples to oranges comparison. It doesn’t take into account the fact that most EWIs just walk over the border at a remote location. Moving several thousand pounds of illicit narcotics involves entirely different logistical requirements – like a paved road that will support a loaded truck.
How is any of that germane to the Steinle case? That isn’t particularly clear since no one – not even the Post – is claiming that her killer Juan Ines Garcia Zarate entered the U.S. legally and overstayed his visa or had anything to do with smuggling contraband.
So, would a wall have prevented Kate Steinle’s death? It’s pretty obvious that the Washington Post isn’t interested in answering that question. It would rather just brand anyone who believes in securing our borders as a “white nationalist.” (And by the way: Yes, a properly constructed wall would most likely have kept Mr. Garcia Zarate out of the U.S. Kate Steinle’s death was preventable.)
The Washington Post pompously claims on its masthead that “Democracy dies in the dark.” Apparently good journalism does too.