The first draft of a bipartisan immigration bill under debate in Congress would have poured billions of dollars into increasing border security. An amendment dubbed the "border surge" by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that passed the Senate on Monday would inflate the price another $46 billion, according to Rep. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)
Even with all that, some border hawks still oppose the bill.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wants to put things in perspective for them. During an appearance on CNN Tuesday, McCain said:
The legislation concerning beefed up border security removes any validity to the argument that border security is not sufficient. This is not only sufficient, it is well over sufficient. We'll be the most militarized border since the fall of the Berlin Wall. That's why I think this amendment was very important.
The Berlin Wall is generally viewed in the United States as a bad thing caused by the Cold War.
McCain, one of the Senate's so-called "Gang of 8" working to pass immigration reform, went on to call for Congress to finish working through the bill, which would establish a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
"It is a way forward," McCain said. "A tough way forward -- so that we can resolve this and bring 11 million people out of the shadows."
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