Proposed border wall construction to begin near El Paso, Tucson, El Centro

It’s been talked about for months and now it’s a possibility we can see it in our own backyard.

President Trump’s proposed border wall is expected to start construction near El Paso, Tucson, Arizona and El Centro, California. That’s according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The Texas-Mexico border is nearly 2,000 miles long.

“I want to build the wall. We have to build the wall. We have to stop drugs from pouring in,” said Trump in a interview with ABC.

Trump has said he wants to secure the border, but his stance on a border wall have sparked protests.

“I think it’s unnecessary,” Joanne Torres said. Torres lives near the existing border wall.

“The taller the better,” said Tornillo resident and former border patrol agent, Richard Martinez.

Despite the criticism, officials are moving forward.

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security released new details on their website. They state:

“Customs and Border Protection is taking immediate action in response to the president’s executive order. We have identified locations near El Paso, Texas, Tucson, Arizona, and El Centro, California, where we will build a wall in areas where the fence or old brittle landing-mat fencing are no longer effective.”

“The Border Patrol is also in the midst of an operational assessment, which will identify priority areas where CBP can build a wall or a similar physical barrier on the border where it currently does not exist.”

“CBP is considering the following factors: The current state of southern border security. All geophysical and topographical aspects of the border and the availability of federal and state resources necessary to achieve operational control of the border.

“That wall will cost us nothing,” Trump said in a January interview with ABC.

The president has said he would have Mexico pay for the wall but there are still many who question how that would work, including former congressman and one-time sector chief of the Border Patrol, Silvestre Reyes.

Reyes said the money can be better used for more agents and technology.

“I’m on the record as saying it’s the most expensive and least effective proposal that’s out there to manage our border,” Reyes said.

The DHS website doesn’t say specifically were they will get the funding but states:

“The CBP has identified funding to begin immediate construction and is working with the Trump administration in these efforts.”

This announcement comes a day after the Department of Homeland Security called out for bids, “for the design and build of several wall structures in the vicinity of the United States border with Mexico.”

The request for the proposals will go out March 6 and the final bids are due March 24.