Cuellar uses heat maps to show futility of border walls

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas – Congressman Henry Cuellar has pointed to heat maps to prove his point that border walls are ineffective in deterring migrants seeking asylum.

In a webinar with reporters, Cuellar said the heat maps show more crossings in areas where border fencing has been erected.

He noted that migrants can ask for asylum once they touch the riverbank on the north side of the Rio Grande. So, what good is a border wall a quarter of a mile or more inland from the river, he asked.

“I was able to convince them (Republicans in the U.S. House), to say, listen, if somebody touches a riverbank, they can ask for asylum. And if they walk a quarter of a mile, that fence is not going to stop them because they already touched the riverbank a quarter of a mile behind them,” Cuellar told the reporters.

“I showed them (House Republican colleagues) some heat maps to show that where there are fences. There, you have some of the largest amounts of people coming to the border.”

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar

Cuellar said the heat maps have helped him make the case to Republicans in the House that border walls are not the answer to deterring irregular migration.

“I said, hey, instead of spending that money on that fence, why don’t we spend it on river roads, getting rid of Carrizo cane, helping Border Patrol with personnel and technology.”

Cuellar said his presentations have been successful.

“I was able to convince them because they wanted almost $2 billion of border fencing but at the end, we were able to come up with monies that Border Patrol can use river road technology along the river.”

As he closed the webinar, Cuellar encouraged reporters to check out the heat maps.

“Those heat maps, they’re very, very interesting. I use them over and over and over again in the Appropriations Committee,” Cuellar said.

“I convinced some of my Republican friends, maybe not all of them but a lot of them at least to negotiate. No new monies for border fencing.”

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