Pentagon Chief Says $1 Billion of Funding Shifted to Border Wall
Mike Stone
Real journalism holds power accountable
Since 2015, The Wire has done just that.
But we can continue only with your support.
Washington: The US Department of Defense shifted $1 billion to plan and build a 57-mile section of "pedestrian fencing", roads and lighting along the border between the United States and Mexico, the Pentagon chief said on Monday.
Last week, the Pentagon gave Congress a list that included $12.8 billion of construction projects for which it said funds could be redirected for construction along the US-Mexico border.
Also read: Border Walls Aren't 'Fixing' Anything – But the World Is Building Them Anyway
US President Donald Trump declared a national emergency last month in a bid to fund his promised border wall without congressional approval.
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said in a memo to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen that the Department of Defense had the authority to support counter-narcotics activities near international boundaries.
Shanahan authorised the US Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning and executing the project that would involve building 57 miles of 18-foot-high fencing, constructing and improving roads, and installing lighting within the Yuma and El Paso sections of the US-Mexico border.
(Reuters)
This article went live on March twenty-sixth, two thousand nineteen, at twenty minutes past two in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.