Monday 12 / May / 2025
Muscat: The U.S. Department of Defence has authorised the transfer of $1 billion for new wall construction on the U.S.-Mexico Border.
The funds will be used to build 57 miles of 18-foot-high pedestrian fencing, constructing and improving roads, and installing lighting in certain parts of the border in support of President Donald Trump's emergency declaration on 15 February, the department confirmed.
In a statement, the department said that a federal law "gives the Department of Defence the authority to construct roads and fences and to install lighting to block drug-smuggling corridors across international boundaries of the United States in support of counter-narcotic activities of Federal law enforcement agencies."
Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan authorised the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning and executing the project.
In a letter to Shanahan, 10 Democratic senators protested the move.
"We strongly object to both the substance of the funding transfer, and to the Department implementing the transfer without seeking the approval of the congressional defence committees
and in violation of provisions in the defence appropriation itself," it stated.
"As a result, we have serious concerns that the Department has allowed political interference and pet projects to come ahead of many near-term, critical readiness issues facing our military. The $1 billion reprogramming that the Department is implementing without congressional approval constitutes a dollar-for-dollar theft from other readiness needs of our Armed Forces."
The letter was signed by Senators Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Dick Durban of Illinois, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Jon Tester of Montana, Patty Murray of Washington, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Dianne Feinstein of California, and Tom Udall of New Mexico
Trump declared a national emergency on 15 February to build the border wall, a signature campaign promise.
In a televised address, Trump spoke about "the national security and humanitarian crisis on our southern border" at the event, according to the White House. According to reports, Trump will also sign a national emergency declaration over the "crisis" of illegal border crossings that he has long vowed to fix with a newly constructed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Members of both parties have criticised the move as unconstitutional. A resolution to revoke the emergency was passed in the House of Representatives last month, with 12 Republican Senators siding with their Democratic colleagues to get it through the Senate. However, Trump issued a veto against the motion earlier this month. The Senate will now require a two-thirds majority to overrule the president's decision.
