The U.S. House late Thursday approved a spending plan that includes nearly $1.6 billion to build President Trump's long promised wall along the Texas-Mexico border, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Surveying and other construction work on the wall has already begun in the Rio Grande Valley, 1200 WOAI news reported earlier this week.
U.S. Rep Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo), who represents a big chunk of the area where the wall will be built, says people who live along the border and understand the dynamics of illegal immigration understand that a '14th Century solution to a 21st Century challenge' won't work.
"Terrain and natural barriers, along with a vigilant Border Patrol, already provide adequate deterrence for immigrants in most areas," Cuellar said.
"A wall will also require substantial land grabs by the federal government and violate current land ownership rights, ranching operations, and wildlife refuges," he said. "This money would be far better spent on technology and properly equipping our border agents to plug the gaps."
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-San Antonio), who represents more of the U.S. Mexico border than any other member of Congress, is pushing a 'virtual wall.'
Hurd has been touring the border with the inventor of the 'Oculus Rift' virtual reality headset.
He says if the border region can be littered with sensors, Virtiual Reality technology would be a great way to enhance the reach and capability of the Border Patrol.
"If it is something that needs to be tracked, we deploy a small drone that tracks that," he said, referring to everything from illegal immigrants to drug smugglers. "That follows it until a Border Patrol agent is able to interdict."
Hurd says it would be a great way to close the gaps in the border, without the need for the expense and the interference of a major wall.
"People are frustrated because we don't have operational control of our border," he said. "We need to be leveraging the latest technology."
Hurds says enhancing border security with Virtual Reality would cost about a half million dollars a mile, while the physical wall would cost taxpayers $24 million a mile.