Firstpost
  • Home
  • Video Shows
    Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
  • World
    US News
  • Explainers
  • News
    India Opinion Cricket Tech Entertainment Sports Health Photostories
  • Asia Cup 2025
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
Trending:
  • Nepal protests
  • Nepal Protests Live
  • Vice-presidential elections
  • iPhone 17
  • IND vs PAK cricket
  • Israel-Hamas war
fp-logo
US border officials' suggestions to secure Mexico boundary don't focus on Donald Trump's wall, claim lawmakers
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
  • Home
  • World
  • US border officials' suggestions to secure Mexico boundary don't focus on Donald Trump's wall, claim lawmakers

US border officials' suggestions to secure Mexico boundary don't focus on Donald Trump's wall, claim lawmakers

Reuters • February 7, 2019, 14:44:27 IST
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter

US Customs and Border Protection officials on Wednesday described a multi-pronged strategy for tightening the southern border with Mexico that did not focus mainly on a massive wall President Donald Trump demands, according to lawmakers who attended a classified briefing.

Advertisement
Subscribe Join Us
Add as a preferred source on Google
Prefer
Firstpost
On
Google
US border officials' suggestions to secure Mexico boundary don't focus on Donald Trump's wall, claim lawmakers

Washington: US Customs and Border Protection officials on Wednesday described a multi-pronged strategy for tightening the southern border with Mexico that did not focus mainly on a massive wall President Donald Trump demands, according to lawmakers who attended a classified briefing. [caption id=“attachment_6044671” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]Representational image. Reuters Representational image. Reuters[/caption] A group of 17 Republican and Democratic members of the Senate and House of Representatives are trying to beat a 15 February deadline for passing legislation to fund US border security operations over the next eight months. Trump is insisting on $5.7 billion to build a wall — a demand that led to the recent 35-day partial federal government shutdown that ended last month. Leading Democrats have said there will be no money for a wall, despite the president’s declaration during his State of the Union address on Tuesday that “I will get it built.” One of the 17 negotiators, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, left the briefing by Customs and Border Protection agents telling reporters that lawmakers demanded a list of priorities for securing the US-Mexico border from illegal drugs and undocumented immigrants. “What they said over again was technology,” Durbin said. “They don’t rule out barriers, they don’t rule out fences. But that isn’t the first priority.” Other members backed up Durbin’s assessment of the border officials’ position. “Technology” refers to devices such as huge scanners that can look inside trucks and cars, sensors, drones and other high-tech tools that could be quickly dispatched. Senator Richard Shelby, a senior Republican negotiator, told reporters that the administration’s border security experts advised providing money for a mix of additional law enforcement agents, physical barriers and high-tech devices. Shelby also said the lawmakers were briefed on “terrorists” who were coming across the southern border. While he said they were originating in West Asia, he did not provide figures on the number of people detected and did not know whether they were apprehended. For Congress to be able to pass legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security and a range of other federal agencies by a self-imposed 15 February deadline, the negotiators aimed to strike a deal and write a bill by this Friday or Saturday. Failure could result in another partial government closure, following the shutdown that began on 22 December, 2018, when Trump refused to sign a funding bill that did not contain the money he wanted for wall construction to fulfil an often-repeated campaign promise. The shutdown, which Trump initially said he would take responsibility for before shifting blame to Democrats, idled some 800,000 government employees. Lawmakers noted there is the possibility of passing another short-term funding bill to give more time to negotiate border security. While Trump repeatedly has described illegal immigration as “an urgent national crisis,” Durbin said the focus at Wednesday’s briefing was on “the most serious drug epidemic in the history of the United States of America” with undetected opioids coming mainly through US ports of entry. Late on Tuesday, Democratic Representative Pete Aguilar, another border security negotiator, told Reuters in a telephone interview that a “range of options” were being weighed. He said there was nothing in Trump’s State of the Union speech, which focussed on building a wall, that he thought would help the negotiators. “But our job is to tune out all the noise and to try to get to a compromise.”

Tags
Donald Trump US NewsTracker Mexico Border security US Mexico border wall US Customs and Border Protection officials
End of Article
Latest News
Find us on YouTube
Subscribe
End of Article

Impact Shorts

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli remains caretaker PM amid chaos in Nepal. Protesters torched parliament, executive seat, Supreme Court, and presidential residence. President Paudel calls for dialogue as violence continues across the country.

More Impact Shorts

Top Stories

Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty

Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?

Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?

Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House

Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House

Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty

Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?

Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?

Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House

Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House

Top Shows

Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports

QUICK LINKS

  • Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
Latest News About Firstpost
Most Searched Categories
  • Web Stories
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • IPL 2025
NETWORK18 SITES
  • News18
  • Money Control
  • CNBC TV18
  • Forbes India
  • Advertise with us
  • Sitemap
Firstpost Logo

is on YouTube

Subscribe Now

Copyright @ 2024. Firstpost - All Rights Reserved

About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms Of Use
Home Video Shorts Live TV