On front-lines of border battle, agents say Trump’s deal with Mexico paying dividends
Illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border has slowed in recent months and officials on the front-lines credit in part President Trump's dealings with Mexico. Fox News accompanied agents to see the impact first-hand.
Drone footage released by the Border Patrol over the weekend shows miles of a “new border wall system” going up at a location in Arizona near where illegal immigrants were seen streaming into America years ago.
The construction is taking place near San Luis and is being carried out with the help of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“CBP has constructed over 60 miles of new border wall system along the SW border since 2017 and expects to complete 450 miles by the end of 2020,” the Border Patrol said in a tweet.
The agency also tweeted footage showing how a 10-foot wall in the area “failed to impede and deny illegal entries” in 2005.
ON THE BORDER, OFFICIALS SEE DIVIDENDS FROM TRUMP'S DEAL WITH MEXICO
“Today, CBP has a triple-layered enforcement zone which includes an 18’ bollard wall,” it added.
Elsewhere in Arizona, crews were installing 30-foot steel fencing Friday to replace older barriers next to a border crossing known as Lukeville Port of Entry, which is part of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Many Arizona residents use the crossing on their way to Rocky Point, a beach destination in Mexico.
Construction is expected to take about 45 days. The U.S. government then plans to tackle other projects in Arizona, including nearly 40 miles of fencing in other parts of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and areas of Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.
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Workers also broke ground Friday for construction between Columbus and Santa Teresa — small towns near ports of entry along the border between New Mexico and the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.
The taller fencing is being funded through a national emergency declaration by President Trump.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
