Given the overwhelming number of illegal immigrants who cross the border and pour into California, you’d think the liberals there would be the ones most adamant about supporting a border wall. For whatever reason, the liberals living in the already bankrupt state don’t mind shelling out even more money to contribute towards services for illegals.
The polling does show that the majority of Californians oppose a border wall (though they’re more evenly split on the issue of sanctuary cities). But what about when there’s a problem that directly affects them?
Caltrans is building a taller, stronger wall in San Jose to stop homeless individuals from returning to an encampment. Caltrans has repeatedly cleaned up the large encampment under I-280, but the homeless keep returning.
While this new solution has some homeowners pleased, it is generating a lot of anger in the community.
Laura Nunez, who has lived on Macredes Avenue in San Jose most of her life, said everything changed on her street when homeless people began using the rickety chain link fence at the end of the block as a doorway to their encampments along I-280. “Every time Caltrans would come out and repair it…as soon as they left they cut a hole in it and they just use that…that was their main access point to go in and out,” said Nunez. “We’ve had to live with their garbage. We’ve had to live with drug paraphernalia. The kids haven’t been able come out to play.”
And their solution? The wall just got ten feet taller! Kinda.
Caltrans and the city heard the neighbors’ complaints and on Monday, workers were out building a taller barrier at the freeway on-ramp and on Macredes Avenue.
Jaime Foberg, the founder of “In Their Shoes” homeless advocacy said, “I think of Trump. And I think how horrible it is that they would keep people out. It really does make me sad.”
The new 8-foot-tall fence is rigid and much stronger, with smaller holes to make it difficult to cut or climb.
Neighbors hope it will make the campers move on, but those who work with the homeless argue the city is giving them nowhere else to go.
Of course, some critics are naturally complaining that such a plan is similar to Trump’s border wall – but maybe that’s because borders work. In the case of Hungary, directly following the completion of their border fence, the country cut the number of illegal immigrants entering their country from 6,5353 a day to a mere 29 a day within a week. They’re hardly the only country to have massive success in reducing illegal immigration following the completion of a border wall or fence.
In this case, this is hardly the city trying to punish the homeless, but rather them enforcing homeowners’ rights to not have vagrants on their property.
It’s a bit bizarre that anyone has a problem with that – but then again, this is California.
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