TUCSON, Ariz. -- Eight Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives are asking for a halt to new border fence construction. In a letter to President Barack Obama, the eight asked for a suspension of fence construction until an evaluation of border security operations being conducted by the new administration is finished.
The letter was signed by Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, five Texas lawmakers and two from California.
Tuesday's letter says there are places where fencing is feasible. But the members wrote that the previous administration's policy of using fencing along much of the border was ill-conceived because local communities and local Border Patrol chiefs didn't have "meaningful input."
The Texas members include Solomon Ortiz, Silvestre Reyes, Ruben Hinojosa, Ciro D. Rodriguez, and Henry Cuellar. The Californians are Bob Filner and Susan Davis.