U.S. moves to build border wall prototypes

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday took the first major step toward building a barrier on the border with Mexico, a key campaign promise of President Donald Trump, as officials announced they had awarded contracts to build several prototypes of a concrete wall.

Four companies will build the prototypes in the San Diego area, said Customs and Border Protection officials. The companies selected will each have 30 days to complete the projects after the agency gives them the order to proceed.

“The border wall prototypes and designs will complement other tools we employ to secure our borders,” said Ronald Vitiello, acting deputy commissioner at Customs and Border Protection.

Vitiello said that the prototypes would be about 30 feet high and that the contracts were between $400,000 and $500,000 each. The department has reallocated $20 million from other programs to pay for the prototypes and related costs.

Homeland Security officials said the prototypes would be added to the existing walls in the San Diego area and would allow the agency to evaluate which barriers are most effective in giving Border Patrol agents time to respond to reports of illegal drugs and human smuggling.

The awarding of the contracts for a border wall comes as the government assesses the damage from Hurricane Harvey, which has devastated parts of Texas. Some congressional critics have accused the administration and its Republican allies of proposing cutting billions in funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the lead department for disaster recovery, to pay for a border wall.

An array of Democrats and other critics have called the wall unnecessary.

Trump has asked Congress to allocate $1.6 billion this year toward building a wall along the roughly 1,900-mile border with Mexico.