Thread by @SenatorCarper

.@realDonaldTrump is visiting the border today for a photo-op and, if his speech the other night is any indication, we can expect more lies. As former Chairman of @SenateHSGACDems, I’ve been to the border many times and it’s important we have the facts, so here they are. THREAD

FACT #1: Border patrol officers have made clear time and time again that technology – not a wall – is the key to securing our border. David Aguilar, former @CBP deputy told senators “Technology is going to be the highest need the border patrol has.” govtechworks.com/technology-is-…

Technologies like radar, drones, underground sensors and aircraft are smart investments that help agents perform their mission and get better results along our borders.

These technologies cost a lot less than building a wall — and, unlike @realDonaldTrump’s steel barrier, they have actually proven effective. nbcnews.com/politics/immig…

FACT #2: Despite @realDonaldTrump’s claim that we have a new crisis at our border, the investments that Democrats and Republicans have made to secure our border over the years have paid off.

Apprehensions at the southern border are down 82% since 2000.

FACT #3: For years now, more Mexicans have been leaving the U.S. to return to Mexico than have arrived in our country. washingtonpost.com/news/worldview…

FACT #4: Our country’s independent watchdog could not determine a barrier’s real security benefit. @GAO made clear that migrants have cut through fencing, burrowed under fencing, used a ramp to drive over fencing, and simply jumped over fencing gao.gov/assets/690/682…

According to @GAO’s report, between fiscal years 2010 and 2015, @CBP recorded a total of 9,287 breaches in pedestrian fencing. It is clear that a wall is not a silver bullet for securing our border.

FACT #5: @realDonaldTrump keeps repeating a misleading claim that drugs are pouring into our country through the border. Fact check: my report with @senrobportman reveals the deadliest drug in the U.S. is mostly getting in through the U.S. Postal Service. abcnews.go.com/US/drug-seller…

According to @realDonaldTrump's own Drug Enforcement Administration, most illegal drugs come into our country through legal ports of entry. A border wall will not keep deadly drugs like heroin out of our communities philly.com/health/how-do-…

FACT #6: @realDonaldTrump wants $5.7 billion for a wall right now, but that will merely be a down payment. His own @DHSgov estimates that the wall could cost around $21 billion to complete – not including maintenance, operations or cost of acquiring land reuters.com/article/us-usa…

And despite @realDonaldTrump’s repeated promises that Mexico would pay for it, the cost of his ineffective, 2,000-mile border wall will ultimately fall to American taxpayers.

FACT #7: Democrats and Republicans have provided this administration with border security funding. Over the last 2 years, Congress has appropriated $1.7 billion for border security. In December, the Senate voted 100-0 to provide an ADDITIONAL $1.6 billion washingtonpost.com/politics/white…

Unfortunately, @realDonaldTrump refused to take yes for an answer and chose, instead, to reject the same funding levels he agreed to last year—and needlessly shut down our government

FACT #8: Congress has already funded 650 miles of fencing along our southern border in places where it actually makes sense. @realDonaldTrump should listen to experts and those on the frontlines who know that there are many places along our border where a wall won’t work.

FACT #9: By shutting down our government and forcing the men and women in the Coast Guard and TSA to work not knowing if or when they’ll get paid, @realDonaldTrump is actually putting our security at risk.

.@USCG provides helicopters, aircraft, and fast boats for our border that are vital to interdicting drugs headed for our communities. @TSA deploys agents to patrol airports and mass transit hubs for suspicious activity, looking to prevent attacks. They are crucial to our security

FACT #10: The notion that a wall is not a smart investment is not just a position held by Democrats and those who work along our border every single day. Republicans think so, too.

As my friend @LeaderHoyer rightly pointed out, Republicans who are knowledgeable about border security have repeatedly acknowledged that a physical barrier is not an effective or cost-efficient solution

FACT #11 (and the most important one): The overwhelming majority of migrants arriving at our southern border are not criminals trying to evade border patrol officers. They are families fleeing unspeakable violence in Central America who are surrendering and asking for help.

The Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras are some of the most dangerous in the world. I've seen firsthand the conditions that force so many to flee for their lives. Instead of a photo-op, @realDonaldTrump should be going to Central America.

Shamefully, we’ve focused more on ways to keep migrants out of our country rather than helping them address the misery in their homelands – misery we’ve helped create and are complicit in due to our appetite for illegal drugs

If @realDonaldTrump was truly interested in a solution, he would fund the Alliance for Prosperity which helps to create economic growth and opportunities in Central America so that families don’t have to flee their homeland in search of safety carper.senate.gov/public/_cache/…

.@realDonaldTrump has created his own narrative to suit his political purposes. For the rest of us, facts still matter. And we cannot discuss his trip to the border today without highlighting the truth about border security.