While President Trump has advocated for a border wall built of steel slats that he claims would be “totally effective while at the same time beautiful,” a prototype tested by the Homeland Security Department was proven to be vulnerable to a saw.
A photograph taken at “Pogo Row” along the California-Mexico border and obtained by NBC News shows the aftermath of the testing in which military and Border Patrol personnel were instructed to attempt to destroy the barrier prototype using common tools, as described in a DHS report.
In response to the photograph, Trump claimed Thursday that it depicted “a wall designed by previous administrations.” However, while previous administrations did use the design, the prototype was constructed under the Trump administration.
“It’s very, very hard — the wall that we are doing is very, very hard to penetrate,” Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before a trip to the southern border in Texas.
The Trump administration had directed the construction of eight steel and concrete prototype walls that were built along the southern border in Otay Mesa, Calif. Trump himself had inspected the prototypes in March last year, according to NBC News. But DHS testing has shown all eight prototypes have succumbed to breaching attempts, said a Customs and Border Protection report from February 2018.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, DHS spokeswoman Katie Waldman said “the steel bollard design is internally reinforced with materials that require time and multiple industrial tools to breach, thereby providing U.S. Border Patrol agents additional response time to affect a successful law enforcement resolution.”
DHS has intended the prototypes to increase the amount of time and effort it would take to breach the border line, limiting the number of Border Patrol agents needed to respond to said breach.
“In the event that one of the steel bollards becomes damaged, it is quick and cost-effective to repair,” Waldman said. “Even a wall that is being breached is a valuable tool in that it allows us to respond to the attempted illegal entry.”
Trump has gone back and forth on his description of a border “wall” or “barrier,” pushing back on claims that his steel slat design represents a fence rather than a wall, and insisting that he has not abandoned the idea of a concrete wall — just weeks after claiming his administration will not build a “concrete wall.” The final wall, he has also said, will involve both sections of concrete and steel slats.
[Opinion: The ‘wall’ is now ‘steel slats’ and Trump has screwed his supporters]
The Democrats, are saying loud and clear that they do not want to build a Concrete Wall – but we are not building a Concrete Wall, we are building artistically designed steel slats, so that you can easily see through it….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
An all concrete Wall was NEVER ABANDONED, as has been reported by the media. Some areas will be all concrete but the experts at Border Patrol prefer a Wall that is see through (thereby making it possible to see what is happening on both sides). Makes sense to me!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2018
“Some areas will be all concrete but the experts at Border Patrol prefer a Wall that is see through (thereby making it possible to see what is happening on both sides)” he tweeted in December. “Makes sense to me!”
The debate between Democrats and Trump over his demand of roughly $5.6 billion for funding the wall amid spending bill negotiations has led to a partial government shutdown, currently in its 20th day.
Addressing the media from the border at McAllen, Texas, Trump reemphasized his case for the wall, claiming that “where we have a good, strong barrier, you don’t have problems.”
Trump touts border wall design as “efficient” and “fast”https://t.co/P9nAvkk1G1 pic.twitter.com/1nW44PVx7G
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) January 10, 2019
He also said that the wall or barrier designed by his administration will be “efficient,” “fast,” and “really, really work well.”
