MEXICO CITY (dpa-AFX) - The Pentagon authorized the transfer of $1 billion to army engineers to fund the construction of US-Mexico border wall.
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan authorized the commander of the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning and executing up to $1 billion in support of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Patrol. These funds will be used to support DHS's request to build 57 miles of 18-foot-high pedestrian fencing, construct and improve roads, and install lighting within the Yuma and El Paso Sectors of the border.
The Department of Defense said the move is in support of a national emergency that President Donald Trump declared on the southern border last month to bypass Congress and build the wall with military funding.
A federal law gives the Department of Defense 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.
Democratic senators wrote a letter to Shanahan complaining that the Pentagon had not sought permission from the appropriate committees before notifying Congress of the funds transfer.
Donald Trump Jr. responded to this news by tweeting that Christmas came early this week.
Trump paved the way for military funding by vetoing a Senate proposal to revoke his declaration of an emergency earlier this month. He said the Democrat-inspired Resolution would open borders while increasing crime, drugs, and trafficking in the U.S.
Trump declared the national emergency on February 15 in order to bypass Congress, which refused to provide $5.7 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Congress needs a two-thirds majority of both chambers to override a presidential veto, which is unlikely to happen.
A coalition of 16 states is suing the Trump administration alleging that the emergency declaration and diversion of funds are unconstitutional and otherwise unlawful.
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