People who live along the Rio Grande say the fact that illegal immigration into Texas is down sharply since Donald Trump took office is evidence that the proposed border wall is not needed, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
J.D. Salinas, who heads the Texas Border Coalition, tells News Radio 1200 WOAI the number of people trying to sneak into the country illegally in March, about 12,000, was the lowest number in 17 years.
He says this is proof that 'a big border wall' is not needed to solve the problem of illegal immigration.
"So we need to make sure to reiterate that in Washington, so the men and women of Congress know that," Salinas said.
Trump is moving forward with plans to build a border wall, but Homeland Security says it will not be built along the entire border with Mexico.
"We don't need a wall to try to prevent illegal or under-documented immigrants who are coming," Salinas said.
The Rio Grande Valley is concerned about plans for the border wall, saying it will split property in two, and could even leave some homes on the 'wrong side' of the wall.
There are also concerns about how a huge concrete wall would affect flooding of the Rio Grande, which is essentially a tidal estuary in the Rio Grande Valley, and what message a wall would send to Mexico, which is the largest trading partner not only with the Rio Grande Valley, but with the entire state of Texas.
They say the real problem isn't the remote areas of the border where a wall would be built, but the existing bridges and Customs points.
"We feel that the funds should be going to more technology, and more 'blue uniforms,' meaning Customs Enforcement, to make it easier for legal commerce to go back and forth," he said.
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