'A Lot Of People Who Live Near The Border Want More Ports Of Entry': DW Gibson On Book '14 Miles: Building The Border Wall'

(CBS Local)-- From the moment he became a presidential candidate, President Donald J. Trump has made border control and immigration two of his biggest talking points.

There are many different layers to the history of the border between the United States and Mexico and the conversations around maintaining control of the border. Author DW Gibson explored these ideas and many more in his new Simon & Schuster book called "14 Miles: Building The Border Wall. Gibson visited the construction site of the Trump administration's $147 million steel barrier that spans 14 miles. During his journey, the author talked to many different people about their views of the border and how the imposing and controversial barrier impacts their lives every single day.

"What peaked my interest was this idea I noticed about us that we like to draw lines to define ourselves," said Gibson in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "I decided what better line to visit and look at this than the border between Mexico and the U.S. It had been so much a part of our political discussions and cultural discussions and Thanksgiving dinner discussions. I wanted to go right to the epicenter and see what it was like for people who actually live there."

FULL INTERVIEW:

Gibson spent two years researching this topic and talking to people like border patrol agents, local residents living near the border in the United States and American citizens living in Mexico. The author says these conversations made him think about the border in a much different way.

"In the fall of 2017, they built eight prototypes for the border wall," said Gibson. "That's what a lot of the action in the book follows. So many people think about the border in very different ways and interact with it in different ways. I think we obsess about border patrol and people patrolling the border, but really so much of the action is in points of entry. You talk to people who live at the border and they are sick of four hour waits to get into the country going either way. A lot of people who live near the border, want to see more points of entry, make it more accessible and flow more freely and securely.

Gibson's book is available now wherever books are sold. Simon & Schuster is a subsidiary of ViacomCBS.