If you build it, they will come. For many, this expression brings to mind that oh-so-heartwarming flick of the late 80s starring everyone’s favorite bodyguard, Kevin Costner. But since the phrase’s entrance into our cultural vocabulary, it has been used to justify building pretty much anything. Whether it’s a new basketball stadium or strip mall, part of our American sensibility tells us that if something is bigger, newer, shinier and more expensive, then it is most certainly better.

I wonder if this applies to foreigners seeking to become Americans as well? In the case of the soon-to-be built billion-dollar wall between the United States and Mexico, I’d wager it is true; if you build it, they will come. Even though you don’t want them to. Even though the point of the wall is to keep them away.

It’s not as though sneaking across the border is any simple task right now. There are already fences and watchtowers and men patrolling with guns. If none of this is dissuading millions of Mexicans to make the already difficult choice of leaving behind their family and homes for the chance of a better life in the United States, is it really prudent to think that a high-tech fence will do the trick?

While this flashy new wall may discourage some Mexicans from attempting to thwart the American legal system, it is really only a Band-Aid for the entire set of problems related to this issue, and one of those flimsy cartoon Band-Aids at that; cool-looking but over-priced and with a weak “sticky” factor ensuring a new Band-Aid will be needed briefly.

To really solve this problem, one needs to get past the “They just want a better life; they’re people too” vs. “They’re illegal! And they might be adversely effecting the economy” dialogue currently prevailing and examine the base cause: how bad must it be in Mexico that these people are willing to risk so much to come here?

Mexico has a serious income distribution problem. The bottom 50 percent live in virtual poverty, and Mexico’s stagnant economy is not helping. While the Mexican government certainly needs to be first to address these ills, it is in the interest of both parties for the U.S. to offer some assistance. Economics professor Hadi S. Esfahani says, “It’s a sovereign country, but certainly the U.S. can offer help, more help than it does.”

If the U.S. offered more help in the way of spreading education, creating more opportunities for entrepreneurs and developing a better infrastructure, perhaps the poor of Mexico would be better able to carve out a decent life for themselves there. Esfahani says the best approach the U.S. can take is “to work with the Mexican government, academia and local organizations.” Simply put, if we just “work with them, produce ideas to help Mexico’s needs,” we can alleviate much of the need to emigrate in the first place.

Furthermore, better-educated citizens are beneficial not just for Mexico, but for the U.S. as well. Whether they stay or go, Esfahani points out that more skilled people deliver better services with greater productivity. A smarter, more competitive Mexico is better for everyone because it inevitably leads to improvement in goods and services. As Esfahani puts it, “Those immigrants can do things for us. … We should want everyone in the world to be as productive as possible, because it helps us.”

Increasing our cooperation with and help to Mexico makes sense politically as well as economically. President Vincente Fox has called the wall “shameful” and compared it to the Berlin Wall; the Foreign Relations Department issued a statement saying the wall “will harm the bilateral relationship” and is “against the spirit of cooperation that is needed to guarantee security on the common border.” This debate has focused precious little on preserving positive relations with Mexico, an angle we should certainly be concerned about.

Regardless of whether the U.S. adopts the ideas I have lain out, “they’ll improve eventually,” Esfahani said. “And we can either help them, or sit back and watch while they struggle.”

If you help them, they will prosper. And so will you.