The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Distinction between ‘wall’ and ‘fence’ creates divide
White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said top Democrats voted for a border wall just over 10 years ago as he scolded Democrats for obstructing action on Trump’s proposed wall. He was referring to their votes on the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which authorized about 700 miles of fencing along the border, more vehicle barriers, checkpoints and lighting to curb illegal immigration, and the use of advanced technology such as satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer and 23 other Democratic senators voted in favor of the act when it passed in the Senate 80-19. But there are differences between the fence and Trump’s wall proposal. Trump criticized the 2006 fence during the 2016 campaign, saying, “it was such a little wall, it was such a nothing wall.”
Our ruling
Obama, Schumer and Clinton did vote for the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which authorized building a fence along about 700 miles of the border. The fence they voted for is not as substantial as the wall Trump is proposing. Trump called the 2006 fence a “nothing wall.” Mulvaney’s statement is partially accurate, but ignores important context. We rate it Half True.
“They voted for (a border wall) in 2006. ThenSenator Obama voted for it. Sen. Schumer voted for it. Sen. Clinton voted for it.” — Mick Mulvaney on April 23 in a segment on “Fox News Sunday”