SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Four out-of-state companies have been invited by the federal government to come to San Diego to build prototypes of a concrete wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, it was announced Thursday.
The border wall, meant to stop illegal immigration, has been a top priority for President Donald Trump.
The selected companies are:
- Caddell Construction Co. of Montgomery, Ala.;
- Fisher Sand & Gravel Co., DBA Fisher Industries, of Tempe, Ariz.;
- Texas Sterling Construction Co. of Houston, Texas; and
- W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Co. of Philadelphia, Miss.
The 18- to 30-foot-high walls would be set back a short distance from the border in order to give immigration agents a clear view of the dividing line between the U.S. and Mexico. The walls could also complement fencing built in recent years, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.\
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In a two-stage process, CBP officials said four more companies will be invited next week to make prototype walls of other materials.
Agency officials and company representatives are scheduled to meet to develop a construction timeline, with building of the prototypes expected to start 30 days after an official notice is issued.
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Evaluation on the cost and performance of the prototypes is expected to take one or two months, CBP officials said.
Christian Ramirez, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition and human rights director of Alliance San Diego, said building a border wall would come at the expense of upgrading the outdated ports of entry.
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"Our booming binational region is in need of infrastructure that facilitates trade and commerce, investment in protecting our sensitive environment and assurances that the rights and dignity of border residents will be protected," Ramirez said. "The administration's misguided insistence that a border wall must be built is an affront to the just demands of border communities to revitalize and not militarize our region."
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