Construction of the border wall could begin this year, and the White House is planning to announce the contracts by April. Reports suggest that if the wall reduces the number of illegal immigrants by 9-12%, then the wall will essentially pay for itself.
In fact, if all goes according to plan, Secretary of Homeland Security General John Kelly believes the wall could be built within 2 years and designs are already underway.
Despite the rapid progress of the border wall’s planning, Democrats in California are doing their best to slow its progress, and proposed piece of legislation would require state pensions to sell off assets in companies that will build Trump’s “wall of shame.”
From Zero Hedge:
A new piece of legislation recently introduced in California, Assembly Bill (AB) 946 or the “Resist the Wall Act,” would require the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) – the nation’s first and second largest pension funds – to liquidate within 12 months any investments in companies involved in the construction of President Trump’s “Wall of Shame”. The bill also requires the two pension funds to report to the Legislature and the Governor by January 1, 2019 with a list of companies from which they have liquidated investments or plan to do so.
Not surprisingly, the legislation was penned by a trio of Cali democrats including Assemblymembers Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego), and Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella).
Californians build bridges not walls. AB 946 asks PERS and STRS to #resist the wall and divest from its builders. https://t.co/373fnOfaue pic.twitter.com/JHWDnRip8p
— Phil Ting (@PhilTing) March 20, 2017
As noted by ABC News, “More than 600 companies from around the country have expressed interest in taking part in wall construction, having responded to a solicitation from the federal government, according to multiple news reports. Among them are KBR, U.S. Concrete, Fluor and Martin Marietta, all publicly traded.”
California’s far-left politics are unsurprising, and their attempt to make companies involved in the construction a border wall suffer isn’t unexpected. California’s defiance of federal immigration law in recent months has been on full display, and the state is considering becoming a “sanctuary state” which would jeopardize the safety and security of millions of Americans.
It appears that California would rather put politics ahead of public safety, and while this piece of legislation may make liberals happy, it undermines the right of Americans to be safe. Divesting in companies that are involved in the construction of a border wall appears to be just a small piece in California’s overall goal of becoming a “sanctuary state” that ignores federal immigration law.
How should the federal government respond to California’s continued disrespect towards America’s immigration laws? Share your thoughts below!