secretary kelly, when he was the secretary of homeland security convened a conference in miami, a two-day conference with the secretary of state, specifically on economy and security for the central american countries to try to address the pull factors that were causing people to leave those countries. we need that, so we need a strategy, not just a wall. i know you agree, you and i have talked about this before, you agree on that front, more needs to be done in el salvador, guatemala and places in honduras, where people are fleeing from? absolutely. and i ve always said that, create the environment in which these people don t need to flee. and first and foremost is safety and security. and so that s always in america s interests. but this whole idea. let me go back to the original argument, this whole debate is so polarized because they re fixed. the very thing that democrats in
i think that s what we re lacking here, and so the border patrol, i think they play a vital role for them to speak out as an organized labor. why not to say hey, we support this. why not have the guy who actually runs customs and border protection, you would think he would be there too? you can have him. and he spoke, he s testified before congress countless times, and i believe he has the same position as the president. in fact, he s the one that was nominated by secretary kelly, chief of staff kelly. this guy was nominated. so he s been elevated to that role to carry out the policies of the border patrol and cbp. customs and border protection. this season the some farfetched thing that s all about trump. we ve had many of the leaders on both sides of the aisle vote for this many times, this has long history, the great credit of
and as important of any barrier or any wall is the enforcement of laws. i think that s what we re lacking here, and so the border patrol, i think they play a vital role for them to speak out as an organized labor. why not to say hey, we support this. why not have the guy who actually runs customs and border protection, you would think he would be there too? you can have him. and he spoke, he s testified before congress countless times, and i believe he has the same position as the president. in fact, he s the one that was nominated by secretary kelly, chief of staff kelly. this guy was nominated. so he s been elevated to that role to carry out the policies of the border patrol and cbp. customs and border protection. this season the some farfetched thing that s all about trump.
michael caputo and david penn lappin who served as administration spokesman at the department of homeland security. david, is john kelly right, did the administration leave the concept of a solid concrete wall early on? because the president certainly doesn t believe that they did. i think it s true and it s backed up by what secretary then kelly at the time as homeland security talked about with members of congress and in testimony. he very clearly early on said it s not a wall, it s not going to be from sea to shining sea. it s more a barrier. and importantly, it s augmented by people and technology. technology is certainly not bells and whistles as the president has described it. that s what the professionals down on the border believe is necessary and that s what secretary kelly talked about early in his tenure. michael, the idea that mexico is already paying for the wall because of the nafta replacement, that s just not true.
it s not a wall, it s not going to be from sea to shining sea. it s more a barrier. and importantly, it s augmented by people and technology. technology is certainly not bells and whistles as the president has described it. that s what the professionals down on the border believe is necessary and that s what secretary kelly talked about early in his tenure. michael, the idea that mexico is already paying for the wall because of the nafta replacement, that s just not true. it s not how trade works, correct? well, i don t know how you expected mexico to pay for it. if you wanted them to stack crisp $100 bills on a pallet like obama did for iran, that was not going to happen. i don t think they were going to do a bank check or wire transfer. you know, i always knew the president s refrain line from the campaign was going to come back to haunt him. i just didn t know how much the media was going to obsess over it. in the end it s one hand in one