WEBVTT

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>> What does it mean,
and what does it take

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to secure the border?

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More people? More technology?

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Maybe a border wall,

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like the one between
the United States and Mexico.

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It’s been a subject of nearly
a million news articles,

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and hundreds of speeches.
But do walls really work?

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And if so, how?

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As a Border Patrol Agent,
I can tell you, walls do work.

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Before any physical
infrastructure existed

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on our 2000 mile
long border with Mexico,

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vast areas were wide open,
totally vulnerable.

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Today’s threats,
like terrorism,

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drug trafficking
and human smuggling

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demand sensible
and proven responses.

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Consider San Diego.

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In 1992, agents in San Diego
sector apprehended

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more than 560,000
illegal migrants.

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That was only along
a 60-miles stretch,

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just three percent of
the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

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But that stretch of border
didn’t have much

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in the way of infrastructure.

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There were few barriers,
patrol roads, lights or cameras,

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and there weren’t
enough agents.

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Twenty years ago
in Yuma, Arizona,

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the Yuma Sector was overrun

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by illegal migrants
and drug smugglers.

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In 2005, each day
averaged 800 arrests

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and a seizure of more
than 100 pounds of drugs.

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Just as with San Diego,

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Yuma did not have
the infrastructure or agents

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needed to secure the border.

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In 1996, and again in 2006,

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bipartisan legislation

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authorized the U.S. government

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to build border barriers.

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And once built, the barriers
made a world of difference.

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By 2010, apprehensions
in San Diego

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had fallen from half
a million to just 68,000,

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an 87 percent reduction.

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In Yuma, the story was much
the same, year over year,

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reductions in border
apprehension, thanks, in part,

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to investments
in border barriers.

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This infrastructure
proved to be good

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for our environment
and our communities, too.

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In areas where we
constructed barriers,

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deployed more agents and gained
back control of the border,

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natural habitats

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damaged by illegal
migration have recovered.

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Piles of discarded
debris disappeared.

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Neighborhoods and
businesses replaced

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what was once lawless wasteland.

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A wall works best
as part of what we call

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a "Border Enforcement Zone,"

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which includes technology
and patrol roads.

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Border enforcement zones
can make a huge difference,

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but a safe and secure border

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ultimately depends on men
and women in uniform on patrol

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who faithfully enforce
our nation's laws

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and ensure our
national security.

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If you thought this
video was helpful,

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please feel free to share it.

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Thank you for watching.

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To learn more about CBP,
our mission and our people,

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check out our videos on YouTube.

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Follow us on Twitter
and Instagram,

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or visit our website, CBP.gov.