The acting border patrol chief for the Rio Grande Valley told Fox News he wants to see another 120 miles of border fencing in his Texas sector and an increase in the number of agents.
“Right now we would like to see about another 120 miles of fencing in this sector alone. We’ve got 277 miles of river country. It winds an awful lot,” Raul Ortiz said. (RELATED: Deputy Chief Border Patrol Agent Says ‘Fences And Walls’ Are Just One Step In Stopping Illegal Immigration Crisis)
“But if we were able to get the infrastructure, a few more agents and certainly the technology, I like our chances against the transnational criminal organizations out there,” he continued. “What I say to anybody who says we don’t need those things, come walk in my shoes.”
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Fox News’s Pete Hegseth said Ortiz appreciates President Donald Trump’s hands-on approach to the border crisis and said anyone who knows border security will stipulate that a wall is absolutely necessary.
“[Ortiz] went on to say he really appreciates this president for the first time any president — willing to come down to the border, talk to the agents and the real experts. When I asked him, when I said, ‘Hey, critics of president say that they’ve got experts that tell them that walls aren’t necessary,’ he just laughed and said I’ve never met these experts,” Hegseth said on “Fox & Friends” Friday. “Anyone who’s been here knows you got to have a wall.”
Co-host Brain Kilmeade said the wall is a simple solution and is being embraced by border experts from across the political spectrum.
“The former border patrol chief under [former President Barack] Obama also says you need a fence. No one says it’s a cure-all. They talk about the need for a border. What it does is you put sensors on these slats and on these fences, that’ll give both sides what they want,” Kilmeade said.
“You got technology as well as at the very least a delay of those coming here,” he added. “Not all with evil intentions — some just looking to come here. But you just combine the both. That’s what’s so frustrating. This is not hard.”
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