The White House wasn’t going to let minor details like the fact that Congress hasn’t appropriated any money to fund construction of President Trump’s promised border wall stop it from building eight prototypes in Otay Mesa, near San Diego.
And with few expecting the Democrats to accept the White House’s demands relating to a tentative deal that Trump struck with “Chuck and Nancy” last month to avert a shutdown and secure some border wall funding in exchange for enshrining DACA, it’s possible that the Trump administration will never secure the funds, given rumors that a handful of Republican lawmakers privately oppose it.
Nevertheless, construction on the prototypes, which were selected by the Department of Homeland Security back in August, began two weeks ago. And now, DHS has released the first images of the partly finished designs.
Beginning preps are underway at #OtayMesa for the Wall prototypes. pic.twitter.com/77YVMUFAk9
— CBP San Diego (@CBPSanDiego) September 27, 2017
Several Border Wall Prototypes are taking form or are near completion. pic.twitter.com/aFg9uq1f5c
— CBP San Diego (@CBPSanDiego) October 11, 2017
With just over 2 weeks in the construction phase the companies building the Border Wall Prototypes are taking form. https://t.co/2dv2WbVCSz pic.twitter.com/BXV0NTBRUm
— CBP San Diego (@CBPSanDiego) October 11, 2017
Construction workers building the Border Wall Prototypes, look like they are making great progress in only 11 days. #CBP pic.twitter.com/NctporJ6mi
— CBP San Diego (@CBPSanDiego) October 6, 2017
Wall Prototype construction continues in#OtayMesa along the border. pic.twitter.com/wAkDStCPK6
— CBP San Diego (@CBPSanDiego) October 2, 2017
Plans for the prototypes that were selected by DHS after a bidding process that began in the spring were published in late August.
The prototypes are meant to be a “menu of designs” that might be used for the wall, should it be built. Four of the prototypes are made of concrete, while the other four are made of other materials, the Blaze reports. They range from 18 to 30 feet high and are “designed to deter illegal crossings,” says the Border Protection office. They are expected to cost $3.6 million.
The money for building the prototypes came from $20 million that Congress has allowed the Department of Homeland Security to pull from other areas of its budget. That followed an executive order President Donald Trump signed in January directing the federal government to begin construction on the border wall as soon as possible.
While the final cost of a border wall would depend on which design is chosen, estimates range from the upper end of $70 billion from a report by Senate Democrats, to $21.6 billion estimated by the US Department of Homeland Security.