President-elect Donald Trump's proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border can be expected next year, and for a low cost, according to the Republican senator who chairs the committee overseeing immigration.
"In terms of federal spending, it's not going to be that expensive and if President Trump when he becomes president is talking about an infrastructure program, well this would be a shovel ready project," Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said Friday, according to The Washington Examiner.
Johnson claimed that immigration fees can be imposed or increased to draw in funding from those seeking to enter the U.S., specifically from Mexico. Even with this, the wall may cost "a few billion."
But Johnson stressed that the wall would alleviate pressure on the understaffed Border Patrol.
"Fencing actually works. So we need better fencing. We need more better fencing. And that could relieve pressure. Let's face it, part of the problem that Customs and Border Protection is dealing with is the fact that they are having a hard time hiring enough people.
"So the nice thing about fencing, particularly if you have double fencing with a road in between the fencing, it requires fewer agents. And so you kind of kill two birds with one stone there. You provide better security and you are able to provide this better security with fewer agents. That's a good thing.
"From my standpoint, the wall maybe viewed somewhat as a metaphor," the senator added. "I don't think we need 1,700 miles of it, but we need far better fencing than we've got."
Johnson's fellow Republican Rep. Dennis Ross of Florida, a member of Trump's transition team, echoed this idea.
"The 'wall' is a term to help understand it, to describe it," Ross told Bloomberg in an article published Wednesday.
He added that it "really means 'security.' It could be a fence. It could be open surveillance to prevent people from crossing. It does not mean an actual wall."
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