![United States-Mexico border wall - [Image by ©Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/9/27/660x290/b_502x220x82/united-states-mexico-border-wall-image-by-ctomas-castelazo-wwwtomascastelazocom-wikimedia-commons-cc-by-sa-40_1595999.jpg "United States-Mexico border wall - [Image by ©Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)]")
The United States says construction has started on parts of the US-Mexico border. This was one of the infamous campaign pledges stated by the current President before his win in the 2016 Presidential election.
Wall prototypes
Eight different designs will be along the border. Four of those designs will be made with concrete. Four other designs will be made of alternative building materials. Most of these design concepts will be done near to San Diego.
The US-Mexico border has several checkpoints going from the end of California to the end of the Rio Grande delta in Texas.
Some of the wall is not made of concrete but is composed of metal posts and wood fences with barbed wire to keep migrants fleeing from Central America out of The United States.
There will be a heavy presence of law enforcement agencies, both federal and local. Construction will take place on the entry point between San Diego and Tijuana. The new construction will be made 30ft high and will span 30ft across. The process to construct this portion of the wall is scheduled to be completed in a month.
Time and money
Design plans will be evaluated based on the effectiveness of the building material to be resistant to small hand tools. Most of the wall between San Diego and Tijuana is currently made of chain link fencing, which can be cut away with wire cutters.
The final installment of the wall will include cameras and motion sensors will be the last to be put in place.
Each of the eight design concepts will cost roughly $450,000. The money comes from federal funds. These funds have been sanctioned to cover the design concepts added to the US-Mexico border. So far, no agreement has been met with the proposed $1.5 billion that President Trump has requested from Congress to complete the wall altogether.
Upgrading borders
Four companies have been given the green light to build their design concepts along the border. The final US-Mexico border design plan will be a collection of all the design concepts.
Ronald Vitiello is the acting deputy commissioner for the Customs and Border Protection agency. He told BBC news that the Customs and Border Protection agency is committed to securing the border between the two countries, even if it means to upgrade the current border walls.
The design concepts that will be built by these four companies will help the Customs and Border Protection in their mission to ensure the American people safety and security along the border.
