Twenty-four Senate Democrats are introducing legislation to stop President Donald Trump from building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and block his efforts to step up immigration enforcement, The Hill reported.
"Spending billions of taxpayer dollars to wall off the remainder of the border is an exorbitantly expensive and an ineffective substitute for a smart, layered approach to border security," said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., who is spearheading the effort.
Trump had signed an executive order in January to start "immediate construction of a physical wall on the southern border," according to The Hill.
His order also took a hard line on detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants.
The Democrats' proposed legislation would rescind that order.
Meanwhile, Trump's budget calls for an outlay of $2.6 billion to begin work on the wall and another $1.5 billion for expanded detention, transportation and removal of illegal immigrants, USA Today noted.
And the newspaper said the Department of Homeland Security has estimated the wall will cost $21 billion to complete.
The Hill reported Democrats' proposed legislation to block Trump's efforts appears unlikely to pass, however, as Democrats will need to convince at least 12 Republican senators to join them if they are going to be able to overcome the Senate's 60-vote procedural hurdle.