SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — U.S. authorities are reinforcing the border to stop members of the migrant caravan from entering the country illegally.
News 8’s Steve Price reports on one of the new security measures being implemented and explains why experts say it's so effective.
The pictures prove it: climbing the fence -that serves as a border between Mexico and the U.S. has never been that difficult.
But now, that's all changing. Razor wire called concertina wire is reinforcing our border and has been going up quickly to try and prevent the migrant caravan - that's been making its way through Mexico - from illegally crossing into our country.
“We now have miles of concertina wire at our ports of entry and elsewhere along our southern border,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen who visited our border Tuesday.
She praised the government agencies that have been putting up the razor wire over the past few days.
"We are very serious: you will not get into our country illegally,” said Nielsen.
And she's not the only one happy to see the reinforced wiring.
“Well that wire is a great deterrent for people getting on top of the fence,” said Josh Wilson with the National Border Patrol Council. “When someone is up on top it gives them the opportunity to throw rocks and bottles at border patrol agents.”
The National Border Patrol Council is the union representing agents. Wilson says the new wire will also save taxpayers money.
“If someone is up on top of that fence there's a good chance they'll fall off, which people often do,” said Wilson. “And when people fall off that fence the U.S. government is responsible for their medical bills.”
But will the concertina wire actually keep people from illegally crossing the border?
Some will definitely still try, but the wire will slow them down giving border patrol agents a better chance to catch them.
“When people have to take extra steps to surmount an obstacle - it gives us the time to react to that and interdict them more efficiently,” said Wilson
Supporters also say the wire means less agents will have to concentrate their efforts here, which means they can still focus on other areas popular with both human and drug smugglers.
See below for a close-up picture of the concertina wire.
