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Immigration leader tells Utahns that the border wall is a ‘a powerful symbol. But it’s not a symbol that solves a problem.’

President Donald Trump’s proposed wall with Mexico by itself would not come close to stopping illegal immigration, a man who tries to build national coalitions with conservatives and moderates on immigration told a Utah audience on Thursday.

“The wall makes a great symbol, a powerful symbol. But it’s not a symbol that solves a problem,” Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum told the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

Disagreements over the wall could lead to another shutdown of the federal government next week if negotiators can’t find a solution that both Trump and Democratic leaders in Congress can accept.