The U.S. Department of Defense allocated USD $1 billion to plan and build a 57-mile section of “pedestrian fencing”, roads and lighting along the border between the United States and Mexico , the Pentagon chief said on Monday.
Last week, the Pentagon gave Congress a list that included USD $12.8 billion of construction projects for which it said funds could be redirected for construction along the U.S.-Mexico border.
U.S. President Donald Trump
declared a national emergency last month in a bid to fund his promised border wall without congressional approval.
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan
told Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen that the Department of Defense had the authority to support counter-narcotics activities near international boundaries.
Shanahan
authorized the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning and executing the project to build 57 miles of 18-foot-high fencing , construct and improve roads, and install lighting within the Yuma and El Paso sections of the U.S.-Mexico border .
But Democrats in Congress hit back, after warning the Pentagon that they would not approve its budget for next year as it contemplates allocating resources to finance President Trump 's wall in the Mexico-U.S. border .
Previously, President Trump issued a national emergency on its southern border on February 15, in order to obtain the resources needed to found the wall .
Nevertheless, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to overturn President Trump’s veto , which will leave in place the national emergency he declared last month to build a b order wall that Congress refuses to fund.
gm
