SAN DIEGO (AP) President Donald Trump signed his name Wednesday on a newly constructed section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, calling it a "world-class security system" that will be virtually impenetrable.
Before construction began, the border in San Diego was protected by an initial layer of sheet metal that was easily blow-torched and a second, more formidable layer that could be compromised with powerful, battery-operated saws.
Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, defended the project, dismissing critics who call it the "president's vanity wall."
Trump highlighted features of the wall, which he said have been studied by three other countries. He said the wall absorbs heat "You can fry an egg on that wall." The concrete goes deep into the ground to prevent tunnelling. And agents can see through it to spot possible threats on the Mexican side of the border, he said.
"When the wall is built, it will be virtually impossible to come over illegally, and then we're able to take border control and put them at points of entry," Trump said.
He heaped praise on the Mexican government, especially for sending tens of thousands of troops to its northern and southern borders to help slow the flow of migrants headed toward the United States. He said President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador "has been great."
"We're all thrilled," Trump said. "You know Mexico has never done anything to impede people from pouring into our country and now they're doing just the opposite. They've really been incredible."
The president revelled in details of construction, saying Border Patrol and military officials persuaded him to adopt more expensive designs. He said he dropped a preference for solid concrete, instead opting for concrete-filled steel bollards that allow agents to see through to Mexico to spot assailants throwing rocks or other projectiles. He agreed to go along with barriers that are 30 feet high and double-layered in heavily travelled areas.
It has built 106 km so far, has 403 km in various stages of construction at 17 sites and contracts for 262 km planned in the next 90 days.
Crews are installing 270 panels a day, each one with eight bollards.
Trump, whose construction targets have shifted, said he expects to build up to about 885 km of wall along the 3,126 km border.
Arrests on the Mexican border have plunged in August, well beyond the usual summer dip, from a 13-year high reached in May. Arrests are still relatively high, topping 50,000 in 10 of the last 11 months, compared with only eight months over the previous decade.
Last week, the Supreme Court gave Trump a green light to deny asylum to anyone who passes through another country on the way to the U.S. border with Mexico without having first sought protection in the third country.
