White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday that a wall is still needed on the southwestern U.S. border, even though the Trump administration has taken steps to curb the flow of illegal immigrants in its first few months in office.
“Absolutely,” Spicer said when asked if the wall is still needed in light of those improved numbers.
“Because you have a couple of good months in a year?” he asked. “I think you want to make sure that you take prudent, long-term steps.”
“This is a permanent step that will extend beyond his presidency,” Spicer added. “Eight years from now, the next president will have that wall in place to make sure that… it doesn’t continue.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released data for the last few months showing a drop in the number of apprehensions at the border. CBP has traditionally said that fewer apprehensions are usually a sign of fewer illegal attempts at crossing the border.
In February, border arrests hit a five-year low.
