>> What does it mean, and what does it take
to secure the border?
More people? More technology?
Maybe a border wall,
like the one between the United States and Mexico.
It’s been a subject of nearly a million news articles,
and hundreds of speeches. But do walls really work?
And if so, how?
As a Border Patrol Agent, I can tell you, walls do work.
Before any physical infrastructure existed
on our 2000 mile long border with Mexico,
vast areas were wide open, totally vulnerable.
Today’s threats, like terrorism,
drug trafficking and human smuggling
demand sensible and proven responses.
Consider San Diego.
In 1992, agents in San Diego sector apprehended
more than 560,000 illegal migrants.
That was only along a 60-miles stretch,
just three percent of the entire U.S.-Mexico border.
But that stretch of border didn’t have much
in the way of infrastructure.
There were few barriers, patrol roads, lights or cameras,
and there weren’t enough agents.
Twenty years ago in Yuma, Arizona,
the Yuma Sector was overrun
by illegal migrants and drug smugglers.
In 2005, each day averaged 800 arrests
and a seizure of more than 100 pounds of drugs.
Just as with San Diego,
Yuma did not have the infrastructure or agents
needed to secure the border.
In 1996, and again in 2006,
bipartisan legislation
authorized the U.S. government
to build border barriers.
And once built, the barriers made a world of difference.
By 2010, apprehensions in San Diego
had fallen from half a million to just 68,000,
an 87 percent reduction.
In Yuma, the story was much the same, year over year,
reductions in border apprehension, thanks, in part,
to investments in border barriers.
This infrastructure proved to be good
for our environment and our communities, too.
In areas where we constructed barriers,
deployed more agents and gained back control of the border,
natural habitats
damaged by illegal migration have recovered.
Piles of discarded debris disappeared.
Neighborhoods and businesses replaced
what was once lawless wasteland.
A wall works best as part of what we call
a "Border Enforcement Zone,"
which includes technology and patrol roads.
Border enforcement zones can make a huge difference,
but a safe and secure border
ultimately depends on men and women in uniform on patrol
who faithfully enforce our nation's laws
and ensure our national security.
If you thought this video was helpful,
please feel free to share it.
Thank you for watching.
To learn more about CBP, our mission and our people,
check out our videos on YouTube.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram,
or visit our website, CBP.gov.