President Trump makes first briefing room appearance: Follow live – CNN

President Trump, speaking for the first time at a White House press briefing, introduced three Border Patrol Council members to speak on the need of a wall.

“I just appreciate them being here. Let’s go out and see the press. You can tell them about the importance of the wall. They basically said, and I think I can take the word basically out, ‘Without a wall you can not have border security.’ Without a very strong form of barrier, call it what you will, but without a wall you can’t have border security it won’t work,” Trump said.

Brandon Judd, one of the members, said walls have been “an absolute necessity for border patrol agents in securing the border.”

Hector Garza, executive vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, added that deported “criminal aliens” frequently came back to the US.

“However, we had a physical barrier, if we had a wall, we would be able to stop that,” he said.

Watch below: