Utah National Guard soldiers work on extending a border fence in San Luis, Ariz., on June 13, 2006. Put another way, when Schumer, Obama and Clinton supported additional barriers, the only barriers on the border were the ones indicated in black. It’s true that much of the additional barriers were meant to prevent the entry of vehicles, not people. (Philip Bump/The Washington Post)So in summary, yes, Democratic leaders used to support building barriers on the border. Since they did so most vocally, new barriers were built, illegal border crossings declined and the Democratic base became more welcoming of immigration broadly.

Source: Washington Post January 11, 2019 21:56 UTC