WASHINGTON, D.C. — Northeast Ohio Congressman Bob Gibbs took a trip to the U.S.—Mexico border at the end of January and came away from it feeling there are no downsides to building a wall.

“I spoke to more than a dozen border agents, maybe two dozen, at different locations — miles apart, and 100 percent said the wall is working, we need it. They’re begging for it,” Gibbs (R, OH-7) said in an interview on Capitol Hill on Feb. 3.

His trip came right after President Joe Biden signed a proclamation that stopped taxpayer-funded construction of the wall. The administration calls it “a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security.”

Biden is also pledging to create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the United States, including at least 100,000 in Ohio, and he’s establishing a task force to reunite families separated at the border.

Each step is an effort to reverse former President Donald Trump’s approach to immigration.

“President Biden’s initial steps are very welcome,” said Lynn Tramonte, director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, an immigration advocacy group.

She feels the border wall serves only as a symbol that the U.S. is closed.

Tramonte also argues hardline immigration policies negatively impact Ohioans because they pull families apart and take immigrant workers away from jobs in crucial industries like food production and manufacturing.

Tramonte said Biden is moving in the right direction, “but I think we’re still in a wait and see moment in terms of how much change they’re able to make.

“We’re not talking about just going back to the way the system was under President Obama, we’re talking about reimagining what immigration enforcement looks like and putting humanity at the center of it.”

Gibbs and some fellow House Republicans toured areas of the border where there are gaps in wall construction. They also got to see Customs and Border agents sweep vehicles and seize illegal drugs.

He argues a wall helps keep drugs from coming into Ohio, and it makes more sense financially.

“The fence actually saves taxpayers money because for every two linear miles, it only takes one border agent for the 30-foot fence,” Gibbs said. “When there’s no fence, it takes three to five border agents per one mile, and the apprehension rate is half of what it is than the other.”

Gibbs and fellow Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan (R, OH-4) sent a letter to the Biden administration asking for details about what led to the decision to stop construction of the wall.

They argue it is potentially dangerous and goes against Congress, which allocated money for it in December.