Montana’s D.C. Delegation at Odds Over How to Secure Southern Border

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester said that 36 hours on the ground in Texas convinced him that while something needs to be done to secure the U.S-Mexico border, President Donald Trump’s long-promised wall is not the answer.

Montana’s senior senator spent two days in Texas this week meeting with law enforcement officials, landowners, agricultural producers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to discuss the challenges they are facing on the southern border. The Democrat’s position puts him at odds with Montana’s other two representatives in D.C., Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte, both Republicans who have both long backed Trump on the construction of a physical barrier.

Tester said a physical wall, which the president is trying to fund through an emergency order, is an ineffective solution to a complex problem.

“A wall from sea to shinning sea would be ineffective and frankly a waste of tax dollars,” Tester said during a teleconference with Montana journalists on March 26. “We should build a smart wall with technology instead of a physical wall that people can go under.”

During his borderlands tour, Tester viewed existing portions of the border wall and toured the Rio Grande River by boat to see the terrain that Border Patrol agents have to traverse in order to apprehend people illegally crossing the border. Tester said the latter part of the tour made him realize that one of the simplest solutions would be to cut thick brush that lines the river, which would give border agents a better line of sight to people at the water’s edge.

Tester visited two ports of entry to see how vehicles entering the country are inspected. Tester said some vehicles are subjected to an X-ray screening that can reveal drugs inside discrete compartments. Tester relayed that border officials said if they had the manpower and time to inspect every vehicle crossing the border, they could intercept more drugs coming into the country. In recent years, much of the methamphetamine that ends up in Northwest Montana originates in Mexico, according to local law enforcement.

The senator also visited the nation’s largest immigration processing center where unaccompanied children and families are temporarily housed after crossing the border to seek asylum, an experience he called “gut wrenching.” Tester said while the conditions were “humane,” they were also cramped and not ideal for the influx of people being detained at the border.

Trump’s proposed border wall would also cut off approximately 1.1 million acres of land from the rest of the country, according to Tester. The senator spoke with ranchers and farmers who would be impacted by the construction of a physical border wall.

Considering everything he saw in Texas, Tester said there are better options than an actual wall.

“Whether it’s farmers facing the threat of a wall cutting through their land, law enforcement officers combating the flow of drugs through our ports, or Border Patrol agents dealing with a serious humanitarian problem, it’s clear we’ve got to use everything in our toolbox to secure our borders in an effective, cost-efficient, and humane way,” Tester said.

Tester’s Republican counterparts disagree. Gianforte, who toured the borderlands back in January, said he believes walls work.

“We must give Border Patrol agents the tools they need to get the job done,” Gianforte said. “They told me they need more equipment to detect drugs and better body armor. Border Patrol agents also told me they need a wall. They know walls work. Congress should listen to them.”

Daines visited the border in February and echoed the need for additional resources to combat illegal border crossings.

“I believe it is critical to provide the Border Patrol with the comprehensive resources they need to protect the American people,” Daines wrote in an email to supporters soon after the trip. “This includes additional personnel, expanded use of technology, and new and improved physical barriers.”

Tester is the ranking member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee and the top Senate Democrat responsible for funding the Department of Homeland Security. He said he will spend the coming months working in Washington to find realistic solutions to the issues faced on the border.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated on March 26 to include a quote from Sen. Steve Daines.