The Department of Homeland Security will begin building prototypes for President Trump’s signature wall along the Mexican border this summer, authorities said on Tuesday.
Agency officials said at a news briefing that the department is ready to begin testing designs on land that is already owned by the government. Four to eight designs will be built and tested, but officials didn’t say when the process would actually begin.
“We own that land, have access to it and it’s a good place to start testing in a real-world environment,” acting deputy commissioner Ronald D. Vitiello told reporters at the briefing.
Funding for Trump’s signature border wall was not included in the budget submitted by the White House for fiscal year 2018, but the Department of Homeland Security has allocated $20 million from other programs to pay for the prototypes.
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