U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen unveiled two new miles of border fencing on Friday and declared it the first new section of President Donald Trump’s border wall.
“It’s different than a fence in that it also has the technology. It’s a full wall system,” she said in Calexico, Calif., when asked about whether the 30-foot tall barrier made of steel bollards was actually just a fence. “It’s a wall, this is what the president has asked us to do. It’s part of a system.”
.@SecNielsen: "Everything is on the table to make it very clear that we have a sovereign right to protect our citizens." #TheStory pic.twitter.com/gfQ2ftdQx1
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 25, 2018
Trump campaigned on a promise to build a “big, beautiful wall,” which he specifically said would not be a fence. The president built a slew of concrete border wall prototypes last year, but since taking office, his administration has replaced older fencing with newer, taller fencing and claimed the president’s promise is being kept.
#CBPElCentro #USBP leadership met with @SecNielsen this morning to discuss the completion 1st section of the #Calexico border wall. Thanks to the Secretary for all her support in securing this section of border. @DHSgov @CBP @CBP_McAleenan pic.twitter.com/AEuBV4TosS
— CBP El Centro (@CBPElCentro) October 26, 2018
Border security is national security. We need funding to continue building @POTUS' wall. We need personnel to secure the border. And we need laws that work for the American people. I refuse to believe that this is too complex for Congress to solve, they must address this crisis. https://t.co/FbDkF6dtyF
— Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen (@SecNielsen) October 27, 2018
The wall celebrated Friday replaces shorter, older fencing installed in the 1990s that was now out of date and operationally inadequate, Nielsen said. After she arrived, two workers installed a plaque displaying Trump’s name, atop the names of several border officials.
“This plaque was installed on October 26, 2018, to commemorate the completion of the first section of President Trump’s border wall,” the plaque reads.
