DHS report says a border wall is the most effective method to stop illegal immigration

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general determined that a border wall is the most effective method to stop illegal immigration, a newly released report says.

 According to the 2017 report, which was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), a “pedestrian fence,” popularized by President Donald Trump as a “border wall,” was in fact the best way to halt illegal immigration. 

The study considered 25 different border areas, according to the report, but initially received only one relevant document, which was the 2017 report for then-Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan about the effectiveness of a border wall. 

The 225-page report also considered other methods to curb immigration such as cameras, mobile surveillance radars, sensors, a vehicle fence and the deployment of additional agents, and a pedestrian fence with anti-climb capability.

While many passages in the report were redacted, all those published still point to a border wall as being the “most cost-effective.”

The DHS inspector general said in several areas a hybrid of some of the methods could be effective.

“The main takeaway from the audit is this: Physical barriers work. They successfully impede illegal traffic into the U.S. and do so at a cost-effective rate. Ultimately, the old adage that 'good fences make good neighbors' holds true," the IRLI said after publishing the report. “And, the only safe, humane and reasonable approach to deterring unlawful migration across the southern border of the United States is to construct a “border wall.”

The white House and many members of the Democratic Party have criticized Trump for pushing for a border wall since his 2016 presidential campaign, but the Biden administration changed its policies this year after the migrant crisis at the border became untenable.