The mayor of a south Texas border town says he’s hopeful the wall envisioned by the new US presidential administration will help stem the tide of smugglers and illegal immigrants in the area.
Commenting on a memo signed Monday by the Department of Homeland Security detailing increased immigration efforts and orders to begin border wall construction, Los Indios, Texas, Mayor Rick Cavazos is optimistic his town may receive funding to fill wide border fence gaps.
“Based on what I’m reading from that memo they’re going to continue to allocate money to complete some of these projects, and hope that at least for this particular area and this community, they complete the project,” Cavazos told KRGV News.
Numerous detrimental gaps exist along the Los Indios border separating the US from Mexico, left behind from previous unfinished projects.
A KRGV report last week documented stunning gaps in the fence near Los Indios, with one section of uncompleted fencing standing as a monument to the Obama administration’s incredible lack of attention to US border security.
Cavazos, a former border patrol supervisor, worries the gaps can bring unwelcome rogue elements and make his community unsafe.
“If these gaps aren’t secure then they’re going to continue to be exploited by the smugglers,” he said.
Cavazos says a more complete border fence would go a long way in protecting US homes close to the Rio Grande River.
“If used smartly and strategically, it can definitely be an effective tool, particularly where you have areas of the river that are no more than say 100 yards from neighborhoods,” he said.
While acknowledging that a border wall will not solve all immigration issues, Cavazos does agree the “broken” immigration system needs to be fixed.
“We can all agree that the immigration system in this country is broken and so the question is, will the border wall solve all the immigration problems in the U.S.? The answer is no.”
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security released a memo breaking down an executive order signed last month by President Donald Trump regarding new policies strengthening deportation efforts and orders to hire more border agents.
In addition to ordering the construction of a “physical barrier,” the memorandum also outlined additional border security efforts “to most effectively achieve operational control of the border.”
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