The facts

False.

Ronald Reagan made no attempts to build a border wall, according to biographers of the 40th president and journalists who covered the Reagan administration.

During a 1980 Republican primary debate, Reagan discussed illegal immigration and the United States’ relationship with Mexico.

“Rather than making them, or talking about putting up a fence,” he said, “why don’t we work out some recognition of our mutual problems and make it possible for them to come here legally, with a work permit, and then while they are working and earning here, they pay taxes here.”

Bob Spitz, the author of “Reagan: An American Journey,” said he was unaware of any other examples of Reagan discussing a border wall during his presidency. Mr. Spitz also pointed to the former president’s farewell address, in which he envisioned the United States as a “shining city upon a hill” and “if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.”