New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a top Democrat in the House, indicated that he might be willing to vote for a bill that funds what he calls “enhanced border fencing.”
A fence sounds an awful lot like a wall
Huh. Well if you ask me, that sure sounds like the barrier President Trump envisions building along the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
In an interview with CNN, Rep. Jeffries decried Trump’s demand for over $5 billion to construct a border wall along our border with Mexico. (RELATED: Rush Limbaugh: Trump Said ‘I’m Getting Money For the Wall or It’s Being Shut Down’.) But he voiced support for a variety of border security enhancements. “We’re going to allocate $1.3 billion in additional funding to allow for enhanced technology, cell phone towers, satellites, drones, enhanced fencing, increased communication capability, the things that the experts have said are necessary to improve border security,” he told the host.
Do you see the key phrase? “Enhanced fencing.”
What’s the difference?
Before the government shutdown, President Trump presented a depiction of what he envisions a border wall will look like. Here’s the picture he tweeted out:
A design of our Steel Slat Barrier which is totally effective while at the same time beautiful! pic.twitter.com/sGltXh0cu9
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
Gee, that sure does have a fence-like quality to it!
The border debate over semantics
Of course, much of the current debate over border security only revolves around semantics. Democrats claim to want to secure the border. (RELATED: Ro Khanna Encourages Migrants To ‘Follow Our Process’ And Calls For Policy That ‘Secures Our Border’.) Some claim to even want a physical barrier in the form of a fence.
But none admit to wanting a wall. This is all very disingenuous. If Democrats want to secure the southern border, a wall will do just fine.
Opposing the wall is not about principle for Democrats. It’s about depriving Trump of a policy victory he can go into the 2020 campaign touting.
Meanwhile, our border remains insecure, much to the danger of our national life.
