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Opinion

Yes, El Chapo Should Pay for the Border Wall

By removing the burden for a wall from the American taxpayer, Ted Cruz's EL CHAPO Act creates an excellent path forward for border security.

Yes, El Chapo Should Pay for the Border Wall
Drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escorted by marines as he is presented to the media in Mexico City. (Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images)
By Jack Parkos

Republican Senator Ted Cruz from Texas has proposed a unique plan to fund the border wall. He calls it Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order, or the EL CHAPO Act.

The EL CHAPO Act

Cruz’s proposal would use El Chapo’s assets to fund the wall on the southern border. The United States recently found drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman guilty of ten federal charges. They also seized approximately $14 billion in assets. Ted Cruz wants to direct these funds to border security.

Cruz also released a statement saying:

“Fourteen billion dollars will go a long way toward building a wall that will keep Americans safe and hinder the illegal flow of drugs, weapons, and individuals across our southern border.”

This plan would seemingly eliminate the problem many had with building the wall-the burden on the taxpayers. The wall is estimated to cost 5 billion dollars-El Chapo’s assets are worth 14 billion. This would cover the cost of the wall and leave additional funding for border security.

A Great Plan for Funding

This plan is a great idea and deserves serious support. Neither border security nor a border wall is necessarily a bad thing. The strongest argument against a wall is the tax burden, and this proposal removes that issue. Furthermore, it is truly poetic justice, as a man who contributed so much to the drug trade and sex trafficking will pay for an attempt to reduce it.

Regardless of your stance on the drug war, El Chapo is not a good man. Between the years of 2007 and 2014, the death toll from homicide was at more than 164,000 people. Some estimates state that more than half of these were due to the war against the cartels. This is more than the civilians killed in the Iraq war. The destabilization of Latin America has led to a crisis of illegal immigrants crossing the border.

Mexico homicides drug cartels iraq
Homicides in Mexico compared to Iraq and Afghan war casualties.

In a sense, this proposal is similar to war reparations. However, civilians do not have to pay the cost, but rather the drug lords. How could one oppose such a solution? Even opponents of the war on drugs should support this. Do we really want cocaine, heroin, gang violence, and sex trafficking coming into our country?

An Excellent Plan From Cruz

The wall would be effective at cutting down on all of this and with Cruz’s plan, it wouldn’t cost the taxpayers a dime. Instead, it would instead punish criminals for the death and destruction they have caused. This is the type of justice many people support, as his assets will prevent further crime. Moreover, this wall, decreasing the drugs, may help reduce the police state in America. After all, there may be fewer drugs and organized gangs to fight.

Some may argue that the federal government should not be seizing the assets. The question to ask, though, is where else should it go? The government has already seized the assets, and whether or not they should do so is irrelevant. The best option appears to be sending it to fund a border wall.

Regardless of one’s political stance, the EL CHAPO Act is worthy of support. It uniquely secures the country without placing any burden on taxpayers.

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