Homeland Security Director Kirstjen Nielsen noted that a border wall is only “one of the tools” required to secure the border following an operational briefing on border wall prototypes with President Donald Trump in San Diego on Tuesday.
Nielsen and Trump were joined by acting Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Deputy Director Tom Homan for Tuesday’s operational briefing. Following the briefing, Nielsen said the wall system must incorporate patrol roads, agents, sensor technology and support resources in addition to a physical barrier.
“But, importantly, it also includes the ability to promptly remove illegal aliens, terrorists, and criminals, closing often exploited loopholes in our immigration system,” Nielsen said. “After speaking with our frontline operators at the border today, their message underscores the urgency for Congress to take action and find legislative solutions to secure our border and make America safe. I want to thank President Trump for his steadfast support for the men and women of DHS and what they need to execute their mission.”
Provost affirmed CBP’s commitment to keeping America safe by securing its borders and noted that “enhancing our border wall system” will play a central role — along with comprehensive immigration reform.
“In our experience, walls work,” Provost said. “With the right combination of a wall, technology, infrastructure, and agents, we have been successful in denying and impeding illegal border crossers. Unfortunately, infrastructure alone will not deter migrants from taking a dangerous path towards illegally entering our country. Current loopholes in our immigration laws pertaining to family units and unaccompanied minors have created a path to entering America illegally. Without legislative changes to these loopholes, we will continue to see a rush to the border by young migrants and adults with children. The dangerous journey to attempt to enter our country illegally is no place for children and without closing these loopholes, more and more people will be put in harm’s way.”
Homan noted that ICE has made “significant progress” enforcing immigration law and “removing criminal aliens and public safety threats from local communities.” But he also underscored the need for immigration reform.
“That includes increasing arrests by 43 percent, increasing interior removals by 30 percent and achieving the highest number of MS-13 arrests by the agency since 2008,” Homan continued. “However, until Congress addresses the underlying causes of illegal immigration, we can’t reach a lasting solution to this problem. We need to address misguided policies and loopholes that serve as pull factors for illegal aliens, we need to stop dangerous sanctuary city policies, and we need a border wall, without which ICE’s work only grows in difficulty and danger.”