This letter is to President Donald Trump in response to his proposed border wall and thoughts towards Mexicans.
For those who don’t know, or have never heard of El Paso, it is in Texas, contrary to what some people might think.
The city is pretty much on the very edge of Texas as far as you can go without actually going into Mexico or New Mexico.
While there are many border cities in Texas, there are none like El Paso.
There are not miles of desert before you hit the border, there isn’t distance between the two cities, there is simply a tall black metal fence that separates two cities. And if you stand on top of any building, you can see Ciudad Juárez from almost any part of the city.
President Trump likes to talk down to the Mexican people, calling them rapists, criminals, drug pushers, etc. However, the people of the city of El Paso, myself included, have had first-hand experiences with these so called “criminals,” and let's say our fearless leader has it all wrong.
I am here to share my first-hand knowledge and correct the lies that have been told about Mexico and it’s people.
While the city of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, has had its fair share of problems with the Drug Cartel, and being named the murder capitol of the world, the violence has rapidly decreased.
From 2008 to 2012, the drug war caused a substantial amount of violence and homicides in Juárez. However, from the standpoint of El Paso, the violence has not gone past the border fence. In fact, from 2010 to 2014, El Paso was consistently ranked as one of cities of 500,000 or more populations with the lowest crime rates.
Trump continues to give remarks that the Mexican people are bringing crime and drugs into this great nation of ours. Yet in 2014, CQ Press had ranked El Paso as a city with one of the lowest crime rates; over 6 million pedestrians and over 19 million personal vehicle passengers had crossed the border annually into El Paso.
With so many “cruel” and “criminal” Mexicans crossing the border into America, the crime rate should be much higher.
In fact, more people cross the border from Ciudad Juárez to shop or work than anything else. The Hollister in the Cielo Vista mall in El Paso is one of the top grossing stores in the nation. So, instead of selling drugs and making money, the Mexican people are actually spending their money here and increasing in the American economy.
During Black Friday, people from all over Ciudad Juárez come to El Paso and pack, and I mean pack, every single store all over the city.
Downtown El Paso is very close to the border, and it would take someone about 10 minutes to walk from the center of downtown to a port of entry.
I would, and do, feel completely comfortable walking around downtown with my expensive DSLR camera, parking my car at a downtown store, and walking with wallet in hand, and so would everyone else in the city.
Because no one coming from Mexico is going to attack me in an alley or pull a knife on me even in the middle of the night.
Now for those who are thinking, “well that’s all good for El Paso, but the real crime is over the fence,” I will say, that it is not true either. Again, Ciudad Juárez has had its bad time, and the citizens from there know that as well, but it is just as safe as El Paso itself.
Many people actually cross over into Ciudad Juárez to go shopping, eat at restaurants, and even hit the nightlife. My sister personally has taken many of her co-workers and friends over to Ciudad Juárez to hit the bars, and has come back completely untouched and unharmed.
Even Pope Francis was not afraid to visit the once murder capitol of the world, and blessed Ciudad Juárez and the city of El Paso. If you think everyone in El Paso was too afraid to go into Mexico for a chance to see the Pope, you would be sadly mistaken.
El Paso and Ciudad Juárez is a perfect example of two cities from different countries, cultures, and languages coming together and working in harmony.
People from Mexico come into America and Americans go into Mexico with ease and comfort.
President Trump, you are spreading lies and wrongful accusations about the Mexican people. I would invite you to come to El Paso and see how the people of Ciudad Juárez benefit from El Paso, and likewise for El Pasoans.
We should not be closing doors to the people in need, but allowing them to help us as much as we can help them. My city depends on the Mexican people to survive and it would not be the same without them.
Wasting money, time, and effort on a border wall will not stop people from coming to America. Just like the Irish, Chinese, and many other immigrants before and after them have done, the citizens of Mexico are seeking a better life, economy, and opportunity here in this great country.
