HOUSTON (AP) – The U.S. government is preparing to begin construction of more border walls and fencing in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, likely on federally owned land set aside as wildlife refuge property.
Heavy construction equipment arrived Sunday. A photo posted by the nonprofit National Butterfly Center shows an excavator parked next to its property. The center has been fighting the project.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has said it intends to start building this month on federally owned land.
Congress last March approved more than $600 million for 33 miles of new barriers in the Rio Grande Valley. While President Donald Trump and top Democrats remain in a standoff over Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion in border wall funding, CBP has pushed ahead with building what’s already funded.
