The Trump administration installed a plaque in Yuma, Arizona, to commemorate the construction of 100 miles of wall along the United States-Mexico border.
Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf tweeted out an image of the plaque online: “Proud to deliver this to @POTUS @RealDonaldTrump this week on behalf of the men and women of U.S. Border Patrol and @USBPChiefYum. 101 miles of wall and counting.”
Proud to deliver this to @POTUS @RealDonaldTrump this week on behalf of the men and women of U.S. Border Patrol and @USBPChiefYum. 101 miles of wall and counting! pic.twitter.com/VFot4e1ki9
— Acting Secretary Chad Wolf (@DHS_Wolf) January 18, 2020
The plaque reads, “Dedicated to all the men and women who work tirelessly to protect our nation.”
During the 2016 campaign, one of then-candidate Donald Trump’s main campaign promises was the construction of a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. In November 2019, the Washington Examiner reported the Trump administration had not finished building even one new mile of wall along the 2,000-mile border.
Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported that Trump plans to divert an additional $7.2 billion in funding for the border wall; $3.7 billion will be taken from military construction funding, and $3.5 billion will be taken from counterdrug programs.
However, the administration’s actions have not gone without criticism. The American Civil Liberties Union released a statement on the recent funding announcement, calling the border construction a “xenophobic wall.”
“Multiple courts have already ruled that President Trump has no authority to take billions from service members for his xenophobic wall,” said Dror Ladin, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project. “The ACLU won’t rest until the president’s illegal power grab is blocked once and for all.”
Though the plaque only commemorates 100 miles of border wall built, President Trump has promised to build 450 miles by the end of 2020.
