Texas Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar said he is open to the idea of “strategic fencing” along the United States-Mexico Border Monday.
Cuellar has repeatedly spoken out against President Donald Trump’s call for a physical wall in the past, but said building a fence while working with the natural terrain could be a viable option.
“I think the best way is if we have some sort of strategic fencing,” he said during an appearance on CNN. “If we look at electronics, you know, the surveillance, other things that we’ve been using in the past.”
WATCH:
Dem. @RepCuellar: Natural barriers on US- Mexico border would make building of @realDonaldTrump‘s wall challenginghttps://t.co/iGulA3wJe2
— New Day (@NewDay) February 13, 2017
Cuellar said there should be a way to use the landscape to protect the borders, adding Trump — who signed an executive order to begin construction on the wall — could face legal repercussions with some of his current plans.
“There are mountains. There’s rivers. There’s a lot of natural boundaries that we have right now that is going to make it very difficult to put a fence or a wall,” he continues. “Second of all, in Texas, most of the private property that we have in the southwest border is in the state of Texas. There will be lawsuits that will delay the building of any fence.”
Cuellar’s spokeswoman, Victoria Glynn, said the congressman feels using technology to secure the borders would likely be more effective.
“President Trump’s insistence on building a wall is more about looking tough than actually securing our homeland or supporting our law enforcement,” she said. “But, he is in the White House and Republicans control Congress,” she told the Washington Examiner. “If some fencing must be built, he insists that we allow local communities to have input, respect private property rights, and give border patrol commanders leeway to be strategic about where such a fence is needed, without mandating the number of miles to be fenced.”
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