Construction has just started on a 14-mile section of President Trump’s new border wall along the Mexico–United States border and will include “anti-climbing plates” to deter illegal border crossings.
Despite many obstacles and strong opposition from Democrats, construction of the wall started near San Diego on Friday, June 01, which is excellent news for his conservative base, in regards to border security heading into the midterm elections this fall.
John Gibbins, a freelance reporter, covering breaking news in San Diego-Baja California region, has taken a photograph of the alleged construction zone.
On the right is Tijuana, Mexico. On the left San Diego in the U.S.. Down the middle is current border wall. Construction has started on a new section of border wall right where the pile of rocks is at lower left. #TrumpWall pic.twitter.com/YqibM5zD2o
— John Gibbins (@JohnGibbinsSDUT) June 1, 2018
Another journalist captures heavy machinery at the construction area.
Barely a month after VP Pence visited the border in California, wall constructions begins in San Diego. First pics were released today #borderwall pic.twitter.com/e821uAVaBJ
— Nicole Spohn Almeida (@nical_tweets) June 1, 2018
According to Fox 4 News, the new wall will replace 14-miles of an old, rusted metal barrier that was erected in the early 1990s from Vietnam-era scrap metal. The barrier currently stands 10-feet high, which has done very little to thwart illegal border-crossings. The new wall is a bollard-style design measuring 18 to 30 feet tall and includes “anti-climbing plates” welded on the upper half of the structure. Fox 4 News indicates that construction workers have broken ground about a half mile from the Pacific Ocean in Border Field State Park in San Diego, California, and eventually move east to the bottom of Otay Mountain in East County.
The Texas-based construction company, SLSCO, was recently awarded the $147 million construction contract to complete the 14-mile stretch. The money to build the new wall comes from the omnibus spending bill that Trump signed in March. The piece of legislation included a $1.6 billion down payment for a border wall that would extend across the nation’s southern border.
“The construction of this new substantial wall will improve overall border security, the safety and effectiveness of Border Patrol agents, the safety of the public, and will enhance the atmosphere for business and commerce in the area,” Rodney Scott, the Chief Patrol Agent for the San Diego Sector said.
Another border officer made sure to credit Trump for the new developments along the border.
“Under this President’s leadership, we have a renewed commitment to secure our border,” Ronald Vitiello, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Acting Deputy Commissioner said.
“The new primary wall-project represents an important milestone in our work to secure the international border. Not only does it significantly upgrade our existing infrastructure in San Diego, it also marks the third concurrent wall project in the U.S. and reflects CBP’s unwavering commitment to secure our borders and protect our Nation,” he added.
In 2017, Customs and Border Protection seized or turned away a staggering 415,191 illegal border crossers. The Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector, which covers roughly 60-miles of Mexico–United States border, is the most active area for unlawful border crossings in the nation. Border patrol officers arrested more than 26,000 illegal immigrants and seized nearly 11,000 pounds of marijuana and 3,000 pounds of cocaine, last year alone.
While President Trump has spent much of April militarizing the southern border with troop deployment, it seems like the next step in his plan to seal off Mexico is to start the long-awaited construction of his multi-billion dollar great wall.
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