"As I looked out a moment ago from the Reichstag, that embodiment of German unity, I noticed words crudely spray-painted upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner, 'This wall will fall. Beliefs become reality.' Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom." -Ronald Reagan

The wall between East Berlin and West Berlin was a long standing symbol of oppression and tyranny during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Ronald Reagan, spoke the preceding words during his famous speech in which he also made the widely heralded proclamation: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! “. Of course walls are only tyrannical to US government officials when they are built by our supposed enemies. When we build a wall, or our allies like Israel build a wall, it is to protect freedom – not to suppress it.

Through the initiatives of both state and federal officials, the US government has been systematically walling off the border between the United States and Mexico. Under the names Operation Gatekeeper, Operation Hold the Line, and Operation Safeguard, hundreds of miles of walls, fencing, vehicle barriers, and “virtual walls” formed of sensors and cameras have been set up to stem the tide of illegal immigrants crossing the border, and more are awaiting construction. The people currently crossing the US border, like the American forefathers and countless other ethnic groups that have come since the birth of the nation, are doing so for the chance of a better life . The Statue of Liberty declares, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Apparently these words were not meant for our neighbors to the south.

Over the last few years draconian anti-immigration laws have been successfully drafted and passed in the states of Arizona, Indiana, and now Alabama. As is typical for the United States, an NPR investigation discovered that the first of these laws to be passed, Arizona – SB 1070 (a.k.a. The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act), was drafted and named in part by the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is composed of elected officials - including Russell Pearce, the Arizona state legislator who introduced the law, as well as the Corrections Corporation of America – the countries largest private prison company. The US government has been deporting more illegal immigrants than ever, and a large portion of them are held in privately owned prisons before they are deported. The Corrections Corporation of America touts immigrant detention as their largest growth market. It only stands to reason that they would want to help draft a law that will funnel an increased amount of illegal immigrant detainees into their for profit prison complexes.

These discriminatory laws encourage racial profiling and accept suspicion that every person of Hispanic heritage is an illegal immigrant who needs their papers checked. Every person with brown skin, US born or international, traveling through any of these states will have to carry full papers to prove their citizenship in the event they are pulled over by law enforcement for fear of extended detainment or possible deportation. This is not the hallmark of a free society, instead it is institutionalized racism backed by capitalist driven profit motive. Of course if we truly believed in freedom, then people could come and go as they pleased, and we wouldn't tear people from their families or extricate them from their dreams of opportunity and prosperity. If we truly believed in freedom, we would repeal these unjust laws and we would tear down these walls.