Construction crews broke ground Thursday on a small portion of the $664 million border fence project in the Arizona desert that is funded through President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration.
Crews plan on installing 30-foot (9-meter) steel fencing to replace older barriers on two miles in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, next to the official border crossing known as the Lukeville Port of Entry.
The project is funded through the Defense Department. Use of the department's money was previously frozen by lower courts while a lawsuit proceeded. But the U.S. Supreme Court last month cleared the way for the use of about $2.5 billion.
An uphill section of the international border wall that runs through Organ Pipe National Monument is shown above a park warning sign, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019 in Lukeville, Ariz. Construction on a two mile portion of replacement fencing funded by President Trump's national emergency declaration has begun in an area near the official border crossing that runs through Organ Pipe. (AP PhotoMatt York)
A border wall was a major milestone of the president's election campaign. Congress this year allocated $1.4 billion, but the president wanted much more. He declared a national emergency in February and faced legal challenges for plans to build dozens of miles of fencing almost immediately.
In Arizona, environmentalists have sued over some of the construction contracts, saying the government unlawfully waived dozens of laws to be able to build on protected lands. They say a wall — and construction for it — would be detrimental to wildlife habitat. The case before federal court is pending.
"It's astonishing and sad to see Trump's border wall being built through the most spectacular Sonoran desert ecosystem on the planet," said Laiken Jordahl, borderlands campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity.
Jordahl hoped the courts would step in to protect Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, where the construction is currently taking place.
The vast park is known for its oddly shaped cactuses that resemble an organ, and it's decorated with hundreds of saguaros as well. Signs all over the park warn visitors that they may encounter smuggling activity. Until about five years ago, large swaths of the park were closed to the public due to dangerous conditions and following the 2002 shooting death of 28-year-old Kris Eggle, a park ranger who died while pursuing suspected drug cartel members.
Thursday's groundbreaking was on a portion of fencing that stretches east from the Lukeville Port of Entry, an official border crossing that many Arizona residents pass on their way to the Mexican beach destination commonly known as Rocky Point.
Crews there have been clearing out brush and removing the old fencing in preparation for the installation of the bollards all week.
Construction is expected to take about 45 days, according to court documents filed last week. The government plans to then tackle two other projects in Arizona, including nearly 40 miles (64.4 kilometers) of fencing in other parts of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, and a smaller project at the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. The two other projects are slated for early October.
The projects come as immigrant apprehensions have fallen sharply over the last two months. The high summer temperatures usually result in fewer people attempting to cross, and Mexican authorities have been clamping down on immigrants traveling north through the country.
But people still try their hand in this rugged, extremely hot desert area where in June a 6-year-old Indian girl died after attempting to walk the desert with her mother, who was uninjured. The girl was found about 17 miles west of Lukeville and died of hyperthermia, heat stroke and exhaustion.
That particular area of the Arizona-Mexico border hasn't seen as much activity as the area around Yuma, which is the third-busiest along the Southwest. A majority of the tens of thousands of people who come to the U.S. over the last year are Central American families with children who turn themselves in to agents instead of trying to circumvent them.
Many travel in large groups, and the high volume of people have overwhelmed the agency, resulting in slow response times and dangerously overcrowded detention facilities. Five children have died while in Border Patrol custody since December.
The administration has awarded $2.8 billion in contracts for barriers covering 247 miles (390 kilometers), with all but 17 miles (27 kilometers) of that to replace existing barriers instead of expanding coverage.
There are already various forms of barriers along 654 miles (1,046 kilometers) of the southern border, or about one-third.
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SUPREME COURT-TRUMP-CAPITOL RIOT — AP Explains the latest election subversion case before the Supreme Court: Whether Donald Trump is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Includes an AP reporter debrief from last week's hearing on whether federal prosecutors went too far in bringing obstruction charges against hundreds of participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits sent on April 16.
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ELECTION 2024-PENNSYLVANIA-HALEY — When Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign, she refused to endorse Donald Trump as the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination — and so did some of her supporters in Pennsylvania. SENT: 480 words, photo.
BIDEN-FUNDRAISER — President Joe Biden is scheduled to attend a campaign fundraiser in Irvington, New York, on Thursday night. Hosts include Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. AP does not expect this event to be open to the media, but it will be traveling with the president and it will provide video edits and Live coverage if there is breaking news.
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SUPREME COURT-TRUMP-CAPITOL RIOT — Supreme Court justices seem to agree on a basic truth about the American system of government: No one is above the law, not even the president. But former President Donald Trump and his legal team are putting that truth to the test when the high court takes up Trump’s bid to avoid prosecution over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. SENT: 780 words, photo. UPCOMING: 1,100 words after 10 a.m. arguments. With TRUMP-CAPITOL RIOT-LISTENERS’ GUIDE — What to listen for during Supreme Court arguments on Trump and presidential immunity. Sent April 24.
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FAKE ELECTORS-INDICTMENT-ARIZONA — An Arizona grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump ’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, lawyer Rudy Giuliani and 16 others for their efforts to use so-called fake electors to try to overturn Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. SENT: 1,200 words, photos, audio. With ELECTION 2020-MICHIGAN-FAKE ELECTORS — Investigator said Trump, allies were uncharged co-conspirators in plot to overturn Michigan election.
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President Joe Biden speaks before signing a $95 billion Ukraine aid package that also includes support for Israel, Taiwan, and other allies, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
