A top Obama administration immigration official called out presidential hopeful Donald Trump on his border fence comments during a public Q and A Tuesday.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske responded to Donald Trump’s claim that he could build a wall along the border to prevent illegal immigration, calling the solution “simplistic.”
“Building a wall isn’t something that can be accomplished along the border,” he told the crowd at the Politico Playbook breakfast.
Kerlikowske was nominated by President Barack Obama and has come under fire from conservatives for not doing enough to prevent illegal immigration. He argued a fence would be ineffective and impossible because of logistical issues like private property along the border, something many conservatives dismiss.
Even as dissatisfaction with immigration policy grows in light of the shooting death of a woman in San Francisco allegedly performed by an illegal immigrant who was repeatedly deported, Kerlikowske assured the crowd he is doing a “very good job” securing the border.
“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 and it helps to move people where we have stronger controls,” Kerlikowske told the crowd. “We have more people on the border than we have ever had. We have more technology. I think we are doing a very good job.”
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