WEBVTT

00:00:04.540 --> 00:00:10.460
Border security is national security.
We must have the ability to know who

00:00:10.460 --> 00:00:12.960
and what is coming
across our borders.

00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:17.800
We must have the ability to construct
an effective border wall system

00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:22.410
that strengthens CBP’s ability
to protect our country's national

00:00:22.410 --> 00:00:24.010
and economic security.

00:00:29.180 --> 00:00:31.650
The border between
the United States and Mexico

00:00:31.650 --> 00:00:35.040
stretches nearly 2000 miles
from the Pacific Ocean

00:00:35.040 --> 00:00:39.000
to the Gulf of Mexico.
Over the past 30 years,

00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:42.540
various barriers have been built
using all kinds of materials.

00:00:43.410 --> 00:00:45.570
But what if there
were no border wall?

00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:48.080
What would our border
look like?

00:00:48.830 --> 00:00:50.620
Early in my career,
I was in San Diego

00:00:50.620 --> 00:00:54.100
where tens of thousands of people
would cross nightly and vehicles

00:00:54.100 --> 00:00:57.480
would cross intermittently
with thousands of pounds of narcotics.

00:00:57.480 --> 00:00:58.820
So the border wall system

00:00:58.820 --> 00:01:01.160
dramatically changed
the border environment,

00:01:01.160 --> 00:01:03.960
increased officer safety,
drove down crime.

00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:07.310
And it's making it harder and harder
to get narcotics into this country.

00:01:07.310 --> 00:01:10.630
Effective border wall infrastructure
slows that down and really stops

00:01:10.630 --> 00:01:14.100
the vast majority of it lets us
use our resources more effectively.

00:01:14.100 --> 00:01:15.630
And it's just making sure
that we know

00:01:15.630 --> 00:01:17.380
who enters the country
through our front door,

00:01:17.380 --> 00:01:19.090
which is the ports of entry.

00:01:19.090 --> 00:01:21.040
>> The border wall has made
a tremendous difference

00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:23.110
in every sector
on our southwest border

00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:25.160
and in every location

00:01:25.160 --> 00:01:27.040
it has succeeded
in helping the men

00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:30.790
and women of the United States
Border Patrol secure our homeland.

00:01:31.410 --> 00:01:35.270
These new and upgraded barriers
have immediate positive impacts.

00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:38.010
Let's look at just one example.

00:01:38.010 --> 00:01:41.780
Near Calexico, California,
a two-mile stretch of the border

00:01:41.780 --> 00:01:44.510
was a consistent source
of illegal activity

00:01:44.510 --> 00:01:47.410
because the crowds of pedestrian
and vehicle traffic

00:01:47.410 --> 00:01:50.850
from a nearby shopping center
allowed illegal border crossers

00:01:50.850 --> 00:01:53.160
to disappear quickly
into the United States.

00:01:53.960 --> 00:01:57.270
Since the construction of new steel
bollard border wall

00:01:57.270 --> 00:01:59.720
and the installation
of cameras and sensors.

00:01:59.720 --> 00:02:02.660
CBP has been better able
to deter individuals

00:02:02.660 --> 00:02:05.070
from crossing illegally
into the U.S. there

00:02:05.820 --> 00:02:08.760
and the wall's design
enhances agents'safety

00:02:08.760 --> 00:02:12.880
by letting them maintain a complete
line of sight through the barrier.

00:02:13.770 --> 00:02:16.810
Building a border wall system
is imperative to having a safe,

00:02:16.810 --> 00:02:18.080
secure border.

00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:21.970
Put the border wall is no longer
just a matter of national security.

00:02:22.590 --> 00:02:26.010
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought
home the simple fact

00:02:26.590 --> 00:02:28.980
that it is
now also a matter of public health.

00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:33.080
>> Just imagine if we faced
this same kind of challenge

00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:35.730
in the middle of a pandemic
like COVID-19

00:02:35.730 --> 00:02:37.760
without effective border barriers.

00:02:38.550 --> 00:02:40.880
And yet, despite
the pandemic's disruption

00:02:40.880 --> 00:02:45.460
to so many aspects of our lives,
CBP never stopped building.

00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:49.030
>> And we're making progress
faster than ever.

00:02:49.030 --> 00:02:51.580
Today, we're averaging
about seven miles per week.

00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:55.960
>> It's common sense when it comes
to protecting our national security,

00:02:56.470 --> 00:03:00.580
borders matter. When it comes
to protecting the health and safety

00:03:00.580 --> 00:03:03.910
of every American citizen.
borders matter.

00:03:03.910 --> 00:03:06.980
And with every new mile of wall
system being built,

00:03:06.980 --> 00:03:10.450
the ability of the incredible men
and women of CBP

00:03:10.450 --> 00:03:13.550
as our frontline defenders
of our nation's borders

00:03:13.550 --> 00:03:25.740
to keep us all safe
is stronger than ever.