Homeland Security officials are bracing for a major roadblock to President Trump’s border wall project as they begin construction on a variety of prototypes without any guarantee that funding for the actual barrier will be available by the time a final design is selected.
The agency has awarded eight six-figure contracts to companies who will set up shop in San Diego this fall to build 30-foot models of what they believe a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border should look like. Four of the vendors were tapped to build concrete-only prototypes, while the remaining four designs are expected to incorporate other materials.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol chief Ronald Vitiello told reporters in late August that he wants the agency to conduct a review and evaluation of all prototypes within in 30 days of their completed construction, meaning administration officials will have decided upon a design for the Southern border wall by the end of the year if prototype construction begins in the fall, as planned.
However, a recent decision by Trump could soon leave DHS officials in a state of limbo: unable to build the wall the agency invested months of time and millions on choosing.
White House legislative affairs director Marc Short announced earlier this month that President Trump will forego insisting that Congress include money for his promised border wall in a legislative package that deals with so-called Dreamers, or unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and are currently protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
“I don’t want to bind ourselves into a construct that makes reaching a conclusion on DACA impossible,” Short told reporters on Sept. 12.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., immediately praised the decision as “good progress,” while immigration hardliners, among whom are many of Trump’s most steadfast supporters, criticized the president for dropping the ball on one of his most iconic campaign promises.
“If we don’t have funding, we cannot build. It’s that simple,” CBP spokesman Carlos Diaz told the Washington Examiner when asked to describe the administration’s plan if a wall prototype is chosen but funding remains absent.
“We don’t have a budget from FY 2018, so I don’t know what else we can do at this point,” Diaz added, noting that it “would be best to ask Congress.”
House Republicans passed a trillion-dollar appropriations bill in late July that set aside $1.6 billion in border wall funding. At the time, White House officials said Trump was prepared to back the bill. The president himself later said, repeatedly, that he would be open to shutting the government down to secure funding for wall construction.
But much has changed since July.
“The border wall is less a priority now than it was two months ago,” said a House GOP aide who has worked closely with the White House on immigration, “because a bipartisan [immigration] bill is no longer a pipe dream.”
The aide added that a border wall “may not be necessary” if Republican and Democratic lawmakers can coalesce around an immigration package that addresses DACA and includes visa reforms, mandated employment verification, and significant border security provisions.
Congress has until March to devise a legislative fix for DACA that may feature other measures related to immigration levels and stronger border controls. That leaves Trump with the decision of pushing for wall funding when lawmakers begin finalizing government spending for FY 2018, or waiting to see if a bipartisan immigration bill comes to fruition.
The second scenario would leave the fate of Trump’s border wall hanging in the balance for far longer than DHS officials might have hoped.
“The only preparations we are doing are the prototypes,” said a spokeswoman for CBP. “I can’t tell you what will happen in January or February, or beyond that, because we don’t know what’s happening right now.”
