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Immigration Official: 'Building a Wall Isn't Something That Could Be Accomplished Along The Border'

July 23, 2015

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said that "building a wall isn't something that could be accomplished" along the southern border Wednesday at Politico's Playbook Breakfast.

Kerlikowske was responding to remarks by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about constructing a "great, great" wall along the U.S.-Mexican divide as a way to combat illegal immigration.

"If you try to come up with a simplistic answer to an incredibly complex problem, the first rule is you know it's the wrong answer," he said. "Building a wall isn't something that could be accomplished along the border."

Accomplishments from mankind, however, include sending a spacecraft to take pictures of Pluto, the Pyramids and putting a man on the moon, the latter of which just celebrated its 46th anniversary. The Chinese built a Great Wall more than 2,000 years ago that stands today, shedding doubt on Kerlikowske's claim that a southern border wall is an impossibility for a country with the resources of the United States.

Kerlikowske said former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano told him any wall could be overcome by determined-enough people, anyway.

"If you've seen one part of the border, you've seen one part of the border," he said. "Secretary Napolitano used to say ‘build a 20-foot wall and I’ll show you someone with a 21-foot ladder,’ so we have walls and fences in place in different locations and it helps to move people to areas where we have stronger controls. We have more people on the border than we have ever had. We have more technology ... I think we're doing a very good job."

[H/T Daily Caller]