Physical Barrier ‘Most Cost-Effective’ Way to Prevent Illegal Immigration, Says DHS Internal Memo

Mexico's federal police stand guard at the U.S.-Mexico border fence as U.S. President Donald Trump visits Calexico, California, as seen from Mexicali, Baja California state, Mexico, on April 5, 2019. Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Images

Physical barriers along borders are the most “cost-effective tool” to deter and slow illegal cross-border activity, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo recently made public.

The memo, obtained by the nonprofit legal organization the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) through a Freedom of Information Act request, is dated 2017.