No border wall- help Houston!- Echo from Houston Chronicle

An Echo from the Opinion page

MaineWriter: Our prayers, sympathy, and support go out to all of the people who are suffering under the burden of Hurricane Harvey and the floods caused by the torrential rainfall amounts  

This unprecedented weather disaster has underscored the complete futility about following Donald Trump's cult, those who are calling for an expensive border wall to be built on the Mexico international boundary.  

In fact, Houston deserves and needs tax funded support.  

A border wall will only take resources from the money needed in the Gulf Coast, where much of our nation's oil refinery needs are located. Moreover, if Houston is ever to rebuild its infrastructure, the massive labor needs will require Mexican laborers.  

Here's an "Echo" of this opinion, from the Houston Chronicle editorial:

HOUSTON,Tx- Harvey is expected to be the fifth-worst natural disaster in U.S. history - just behind Hurricane Ike, incidentally, the storm that much of the nation never really understood but which was felt deeply in Texas and Louisiana. The damage from Harvey could total $30 billion to $40 billion, and that's before any rebuilding has begun.

The stunning scope of this disaster should force another major change in Washington: Trump must drop his threat to shut down the government in September unless his border wall along Mexico is funded.

This is not a time to disrupt federal services. The energy industry along the Gulf Coast and the communities that keep it running must be brought back to full capacity as soon as possible.

This crisis also highlights the uselessness of the border wall that Trump is so obsessed with. Republican Congressman Will Hurd of Texas has aptly called it the most expensive and least effective way to stop illegal immigration from Mexico - which to Trump's credit, has slowed significantly since he was inaugurated.

Texas senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz have influence with this administration. They must use it on this issue. There's no room for both expenditures in the federal budget, which will still see deficit spending that Republicans keep promising to curtail.

This is a time to determine priorities, to focus on real-world needs and not theoretical options. The choice should be clear.