With less sarcasm, the Democrats supported the 2006 Secure Fence act https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/01/26/when-wall-was-fence-and-democrats-embraced/QE7ieCBXjXVxO63pLMTe9O/story.html
because it was supposed to be a token effort and a sop to us America First yahoos in flyover country. What they really hoped to secure was another general amnesty.
So yeah, now they’re hoisted, as you point out: the law’s there.
The open borders shills on both sides of the aisle never thought it would be anything more than a Trojan Horse to accomplish their “comprehensive immigration reform”=amnesty.
Here’s the meat of the act:
H. R. 6061
AN ACT
To establish operational control over the international land and maritime borders of the United States.
1.Short title
This Act may be cited as the Secure Fence Act of 2006.
2.Achieving operational control on the border
(a)In general
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take all actions the Secretary determines necessary and appropriate to achieve and maintain operational control over the entire international land and maritime borders of the United States, to include the following—
(1)systematic surveillance of the international land and maritime borders of the United States through more effective use of personnel and technology, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, ground-based sensors, satellites, radar coverage, and cameras; and
(2)physical infrastructure enhancements to prevent unlawful entry by aliens into the United States and facilitate access to the international land and maritime borders by United States Customs and Border Protection, such as additional checkpoints, all weather access roads, and vehicle barriers.
(b)Operational control defined
In this section, the term operational control means the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband.
And it has worked as well as intended; that is, not at all.