Donald Trump

Border Wall Presents Funding Challenges in El Paso

Funding is one of the biggest obstacles to building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Much of the borderland in Texas is privately owned, and in El Paso the mix of cities and wide open spaces makes the wall a complicated construction project.

At the Ivey Farm, irrigation canals are full in the spring, as water from the nearby Rio Grande flows to fields of pecan trees.

"Mexico's literally on the other side of the fence right here, so a good majority of our farm or a good portion of it butts right up to the levy and/or the border fence," said farmer Shannon Ivey.

Ivey is a fourth-generation farmer in West Texas.

"We flood irrigate, so every time we irrigate we can tell if people pass through, because they leave a bunch of big footprints. And that's decreased dramatically with the fence being here," Ivey said.

He credits the fence built during the George W. Bush administration for reducing cross-border foot traffic on his property.

As President Donald Trump moves ahead with his plan to build a big wall, NBC 5 and The Dallas Morning News traveled along the border fence line in West Texas – from farmland to where the barrier cuts through the bustling border cities El Paso and Juarez, the largest metropolitan area on the border.

People driving along Interstate 10 can see right across into Mexico, and in much of the urban area a border fence already exists.

"People assume this community, this city is violent, it's unstable, it's unsafe," said El Paso City Councilman Peter Svarzbein.

But Svarzbein says it's far from that.

El Paso is one of the safest cities its size. And illegal immigration from Mexico is at an all-time low. The city council in El Paso recently passed a resolution opposing the wall. Instead, city leaders want more funding for bridges.

"True border security is tied to economic security. To make the border secure here we should be talking about investing in our ports of entry, in our infrastructure. That helps to facilitate the safe, efficient crossing of goods and people," Svarzbein said.

People living on the border share more than geography. They have economic, cultural and family ties in both sister cities.

Estefania Galvan, like thousands of Juarez residents, comes across an international bridge to visit relatives and shop in El Paso.

She says the plan to build a big border wall makes her think twice about spending her hard earned money on the Texas side. Other Mexicans echo that sentiment.

Even of those in favor of a border barrier wonder if a wall is the best solution.

"I think where the gaps, this type of fencing, it's been effective. Why not just fill it in with this?" Ivey said. "I guess the bureaucrats in D.C. will figure out just how much of our taxpayer money they want to spend."

The cost will run into the billions of dollars and will have to include money to acquire private land on the border where the fence does not exist.

"It (the fence) just ends. So you have a large gap here of approximately, I believe, eight miles. And needless to say where there's a gap there's going to be more traffic through," Ivey said.

Filling in the gaps is about more than fulfilling a presidential campaign promise for millions who live in the shadow of the border fence.

Nine companies in El Paso have placed bids to build the new border wall, but none want to comment, as some have experienced a backlash from border residents.

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