President-elect Donald Trump once said, “I will build a great, great wall on our southern border.” But it turns out that glorious promise may wind up being a modest fence.
Republicans in the House of Representatives are hoping to discuss an alternative border plan with Trump once his transition team is firmly set in place, Reuters reports.
It could prove to be the first advance that House Republicans make in defusing the quixotic rhetoric from Trump’s lengthy campaign.
On Wednesday, just a day after Trump won the White House, congressional aides told Reuters that they plan on discussing a less costly option to Trump’s grand — and expensive — wall.
Their plan includes more border fencing and increased patrol via federal agents, many of whom are a part of a labor union which backed Trump’s bid for the presidency.
A double-layered fence would hypothetically be laid across the nearly 2,000-mile border. This contrasts Trump’s vision of a tall, impenetrable, brick-and-mortar wall.
A House Republican aide and an official from the Department of Homeland Security maintained that a wall is not practical, for it would reduce visibility for those patrolling the border, and it would have to be erected on rough terrain, even bodies of water and private land.
Mexico reiterated the fact that they would not finance a border wall — which Trump suggested could happen while stumping on the campaign trail. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto did, however, congratulate Trump on his victory over the phone before saying they agreed to work towards a relationship of trust in the future.
After the president-elect rode the escalator down Trump Tower in June 2015 to announce his candidacy, he said, “I will build a great wall — and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me — and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”
According to the Reuters report, immigration law expert Steve Legomsky believes that Congress will not fund a vast wall, but to save face, the new president and congressional leaders may agree to extend the existing fence.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell underscored the importance of border security on Wednesday, saying that they’ll achieve it “in whatever way is the most effective,” Reuters reports.
Trump takes office January 20, 2017, but the plan’s specifics could be introduced to the president-elect once his cabinet has been named.
Poster Comment:
And already they begin to backstab the gullible fools who voted for Trump.
