Work on Trump's border wall to begin near Tucson, 2 other locations
Work on the wall President Donald Trump has promised to erect along the nation's 2,000-mile southwestern border will begin near Tucson, as well as El Paso, Texas, and El Centro, Calif., according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Customs and Border Protection has identified areas where the existing "fence or old brittle landing-mat fencing are no longer effective," the federal agency revealed in documentation accompanying memos by Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
The document provided no further detail on the locations where work would begin on the structure that was a signature Trump campaign promise and is central to the president's hard-line stance on illegal immigration.
Kelly's memos dealt with the agency's implementation of Trump's executive order on immigration enforcement and border security.
CBP said it is also evaluating "priority areas" where it can build a wall or "similar physical barrier on the border where it currently doesn't exist." That evaluation, which will be completed within 180 days, will include current security, geography and federal and state resources to achieve "operational control" of the border, the agency said.
Kelly toured the Arizona-Mexico border this month and discussed border security with law-enforcement officials, including Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada and Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier.
Estrada, a Democrat, said at the time that he had questions about the utility of a wall.
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"I think that's still an open question, being that we're unique all along the border from San Diego to Brownsville," he said. "It requires different approaches. In some places, you may not even need a wall."
Napier, a Republican, said following the meeting that they had "talked about the value of technology in some areas and physical structures in others."
An internal Department of Homeland Secretary document that surfaced this month put the cost of the wall at about $21.6 billion. The document said construction would take up to three and a half years.
The cost estimate is far higher that the $10 billion-$12 billion Trump has said it would cost.
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That document included a three-phase construction plan for the 1,250 miles of border without physical barriers. The first phase of construction would begin in September, covering some 26 miles overall in San Diego, El Paso, and the Rio Grade Valley in south Texas.
The Arizona border is included in the second phase, covering 151 miles. That phase would also included additional parts of Texas, in Laredo and the Big Bend area.
The final phase would cover the remaining sections.