- Oct 17, 2011
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People are sawing through and climbing over Trump’s border wall. Now contractors are being asked for ideas to make it less vulnerable.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has asked contractors for help making President Trump’s border wall more difficult to climb over and cut through, an acknowledgment that the design currently being installed across hundreds of miles of the U.S.-Mexico boundary remains vulnerable.
CBP has not said publicly how often smuggling crews have breached or attempted to breach the structure. Records obtained by The Post via the Freedom of Information Act indicate there were 18 breaches in the San Diego area during a single one-month period last fall.
The new request for information notice that CBP posted gives federal contractors until June 12 to suggest new anti-breaching and anti-climbing technology and tools, while also inviting proposals for “private party construction” that would allow investors and activists to acquire land, build a barrier on it and sell the whole thing to the government.
The language in the CBP request for information about “private-party construction” appears specifically geared to the efforts of the group We Build the Wall, led by former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon and other prominent conservative activists, including Kansas Senate candidate Kris Kobach.
Trump continues to campaign for reelection on a promise to complete nearly 500 miles of new barrier along the border with Mexico by the end of 2020, but administration officials have scaled back that goal in recent weeks.
Trump is expected to attend a ceremony in Yuma, Ariz., next week to mark the completion of the barrier’s 200th mile
In recent weeks, the president has once more insisted the barrier should be painted black, telling aides it will absorb more heat from the sun and deter climbing by scalding the hands of would-be fence jumpers. The black paint will drive up construction costs by at least $500 million, according to government estimates, and skeptics have pointed out that the black paint will increase maintenance costs. That, and climbers could simply use gloves to protect their hands.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has asked contractors for help making President Trump’s border wall more difficult to climb over and cut through, an acknowledgment that the design currently being installed across hundreds of miles of the U.S.-Mexico boundary remains vulnerable.
CBP has not said publicly how often smuggling crews have breached or attempted to breach the structure. Records obtained by The Post via the Freedom of Information Act indicate there were 18 breaches in the San Diego area during a single one-month period last fall.
The new request for information notice that CBP posted gives federal contractors until June 12 to suggest new anti-breaching and anti-climbing technology and tools, while also inviting proposals for “private party construction” that would allow investors and activists to acquire land, build a barrier on it and sell the whole thing to the government.
The language in the CBP request for information about “private-party construction” appears specifically geared to the efforts of the group We Build the Wall, led by former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon and other prominent conservative activists, including Kansas Senate candidate Kris Kobach.
Trump continues to campaign for reelection on a promise to complete nearly 500 miles of new barrier along the border with Mexico by the end of 2020, but administration officials have scaled back that goal in recent weeks.
Trump is expected to attend a ceremony in Yuma, Ariz., next week to mark the completion of the barrier’s 200th mile
In recent weeks, the president has once more insisted the barrier should be painted black, telling aides it will absorb more heat from the sun and deter climbing by scalding the hands of would-be fence jumpers. The black paint will drive up construction costs by at least $500 million, according to government estimates, and skeptics have pointed out that the black paint will increase maintenance costs. That, and climbers could simply use gloves to protect their hands.
