<p class="p1"><span class="s1">On Wednesday, the House Homeland Security Committee passed legislation providing $10 billion in funding to build President Donald Trump&rsquo;s control wall along the U.S.- Mexico border.</span><span class="s1"> ;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Proposed by committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas,) the Border Security for America Act passed with an 18-12 vote.</span><span class="s1"> ;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Besides the $10 billion, $5 billion will be used to improve ports of entry and to hire more immigration agents. The act also states that up ;to $35 million of government funding can be given to reimburse states for the additional costs to reinforce border security.</span><span class="s1"> ;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">&ldquo;We must have physical barriers&mdash;including a wall ;where necessary ;and fencing when appropriate, the right technology, and more personnel in place to enforce our laws and detain those attempting to enter illegally,&rdquo; said McCaul. &#8220;We finally have a partner in the White House who has prioritized this issue, and it&#8217;s time for Congress to do its job.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">However, Democrats have been on a mission to stall the construction of the wall by proposing different bill or amendments, some of which are ridiculous. ;</span><span class="s1"> ;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">&ldquo;To show their disdain for the idea of building a border wall, the bill&#8217;s central tenet, Democratic committee members proposed tongue-in-cheek amendments,&rdquo; write <em>The Hill.</em> &ldquo;Thompson proposed changing the bill&#8217;s name to &#8220;Taking Americans&#8217; Land to Build Trump&#8217;s Wall Act of 2017,&#8221; and Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) proposed a definition of &#8220;border wall&#8221; that would include the terms &#8220;big and beautiful,&#8221; &#8220;real,&#8221; &#8220;inclusive of a door&#8221; and &#8220;paid for by the Mexican Government.&#8221; Vela also made a proposal to withhold wall construction funds until Mexico agreed to reimburse them, alluding to Trump&#8217;s campaign pledge to get Mexico to pay for a border wall.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">&#8220;I appreciate the gentleman&#8217;s creativity in this amendment and sense of humor, but I will oppose this amendment,&rdquo; said McCaul.</span><span class="s1"> ;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Other Democrats have argued that building the wall would have a detrimental impact on the environment.</span><span class="s1"> ;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">While U.S. Reps. Beto O&#8217;Rourke, D-Texas, and Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona are planning to introduce a bill to stop the Trump administration from building the proposed border wall on private property.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">But none of the Democrat proposals have been accepted, except for an amendment that states control centers be installed in the border versus remotely.</span><span class="s1"> ;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">&ldquo;O&#8217;Rourke and Gallego&#8217;s proposal amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit ;the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General from using ;&#8220;eminent domain to acquire land for the purpose of constructing a wall, or other physical barrier, along the international border between the United States and Mexico, and for other purposes,&rdquo; writes <em>El Paso Times.</em> ;&ldquo;O&#8217;Rourke said the ;Immigration and Nationality Act, which codifies much of the nation&#8217;s immigration policy, works as a vehicle for the legislation because it&#8217;s, &#8220;where Congress ;places the power for the federal government to use eminent domain in the first place.&#8221;</span><span class="s1"> ;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">While Democrats attempt to halt the construction of the wall, the eight prototypes of the walls are already being built.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Six companies have been deployed to create the prototypes and it&rsquo;s estimated that it will take roughly a month to complete. Each wall will be 18 to 30 feet high and the prototypes cost anywhere from 2.4 to 4 million.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Trump will be selecting the prototype that will be used for the entire border wall once they are complete.</span><span class="s1"> ;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">&#8220;I&#8217;m gonna go out and look at them personally, and I&#8217;m gonna pick the right one,&#8221; said Trump.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><strong>Author&#8217;s note: ;</strong>With the prototypes in production and the budget outlined, it&#8217;s only a matter of time until the construction before ;the official wall starts. This wall proves that, again, our president takes his campaign promises seriously. ;</p>