Flake: Trump recognizes border fence more suited in some places than wall

PHOENIX — President Donald Trump appears to be loosening the reins on his border security requirements, U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake said Tuesday.

Trump has long advocated for a border wall to be erected along the entirety of the U.S.-Mexico border, but Flake said the president has acknowledged that a fence may be more effective in some places.

“Those of us who live in a border state understand that you can’t have a 2,000-mile wall across the southern border. There are mountains and rivers in certain places that prevent it; there are some places where you just don’t need it,” he said.

“Some places you do need barriers and the president acknowledged that, saying we’re not talking so much about a wall but a fence.”

Flake said a wall has not always been the most effective method of border security, even in states like Arizona.

“That’s something that we recognized in Arizona, where we’ve had barriers that approximate a wall, we’ve been taking those out and putting a fence in because it’s more effective,” he said. “So that’s going to be helpful as well, if we’re talking about border security in a way that doesn’t gen up thoughts of a 2,000-mile opaque structure.”

But in a Tuesday night tweet, Trump did not appear to back down on his commitment to a border wall.

As I made very clear today, our country needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018

The senator made his comments shortly after it was announced that a bipartisan group of senators and Trump reached an agreement on an immigration reform bill that focuses on four issues: Border security, chain migration, the visa lottery and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The president said during the meeting that he would insist on construction of a border security wall as part of an agreement involving young immigrants, but he said Congress could then pursue a comprehensive immigration overhaul.

“We’re going to get DACA done — I hope we’re going to get DACA done and we’re all going to try very hard,” Trump said during the meeting.

Flake said on Tuesday that compromise will need to be made in order to come to a deal on border security and providing a pathway to citizenship for young immigrants.

“For those who want just a clean Dream Act, it’s not going to happen,” he said. “We’ve got to get 60 votes, which means we got to get votes on the Republican side and the Democratic side and the agreement is going to be DACA and some border security elements and a few other elements.”

However, Flake appeared optimistic: “We’re closer to a deal now than we were before the meeting.”

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