GOING UP

Trump Administration to Start Building Border Wall Prototypes This Summer

As many as eight companies will get contracts to build models on Mexico line.

President Trump’s border-wall proposal will enter a new phase of development this summer, with several companies to be chosen to build prototypes for the 2,000-mile wall with Mexico. Ronald Vitiello, Customs and Border Protection’s acting deputy commissioner, announced Tuesday that between four and eight companies will get contracts to develop prototypes for the wall in San Diego. They will have 30 days to complete the task, he said. With 654 miles of fencing already in place along the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump’s budget proposal for 2018 set aside $1.6 billion for the construction of 74 miles of fencing in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and San Diego.