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| New bollard-style US-Mexico border fencing is seen in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, US |
The US Department of Defence shifted $1bn 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 $12.8bn of construction projects for which it said funds could be redirected for construction along the US-Mexico border.
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 authorized 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.
