The mayor of a New Mexico town near the site of a privately funded effort to construct a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border says that the barrier will do little to affect the flow of migrants in the area.

Javier Perea, the mayor of Sunland Park, N.M., told BuzzFeed News that the roughly half-mile of border fencing developed and constructed near the town along the U.S.-Mexico border has done nothing to change the number of migrants crossing the border illegally in order to claim asylum in the U.S.

"It is always the case, where you have outsiders coming in thinking they have a solution," Perea told the news outlet. "Building the wall won't change the source of the problem."

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Hundreds of migrants have reportedly been apprehended by border officials in close proximity to the newly constructed wall, which officials say is largely redirecting migrants coming across the border to other parts of the town where the wall is ineffective.

The mayor added to BuzzFeed that city officials were largely caught by surprise by the announcement of the wall's construction, which was publicly touted by allies of President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE involved with the construction project, including former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R).

"We didn't ask for the national spotlight," Perea said. "It did catch everyone by surprise, and when you have low resources, it's hard to respond."

Supporters of the project, including Kobach, have maintained that the project will have a positive effect on Sunland Park and the surrounding areas.

“We’re closing a gap that’s been a big headache” for the Border Patrol, Kobach told The Washington Times earlier this month.

"We plugged the hole of the worst smuggling route on the entire border! 1000 people cross here daily according to border patrol. $200k-$300k worth is illegal drugs cross this small gap. We cut them off," added the group's founder, Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage.