Border-security advocates form 'human wall' along US-Mexico border

Supporters of U.S. border security make a human wall to demonstrate their support for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, at Sunland Park, N.M., Feb. 9, 2019. (Hericka Martinez/AFP/Getty Images)

Just days after President Trump said his administration was prepared to “build a Human Wall if necessary” to protect the nation from illegal immigration, a group of his supporters in New Mexico joined hands along the U.S.-Mexico border in support of the construction of a border wall.
Waving American flags and holding handmade signs, advocates for tougher border security formed a human shield along the partially fenced border at Sunland Park, N.M., just across the line from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico's Chihuahua state.
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Supporters of U.S. border security make a human wall to demonstrate their support for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, at Sunland Park, N.M., Feb. 9, 2019. (Hericka Martinez/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump cited “Tremendous numbers” of people entering the U.S. through Mexico as the reason for his "human wall" pledge in a Tuesday tweet.
Last Sunday, the Pentagon announced nearly 4,000 additional active duty troops will be deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border. Congress has wrangled over Trump's demand for $5.7 billion to construct a border wall. The impasse led to a 35-day partial government shutdown.
Congress is reportedly nearing a deal that would include far less money for the wall -- about $1.6 billion. But whether Trump would accept the plan, which would also avoid another government shutdown, is unknown.
In January, Trump signed a resolution to temporally reopen the government while lawmakers negotiate over border security funding. He has said he may declare a national emergency to avoid another shutdown when the resolution ends on Feb. 15.