New downtown border wall construction project met by demonstrators

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — Work to build President Donald Trump’s border wall in downtown El Paso starts this weekend.

The new wall will be a steel bollard wall that will replace an existing fence in the Chihuahuita neighborhood.

On Friday Chief Patrol Agent Aaron A. Hull, of the Border Patrol, El Paso sector, said it's needed because the current fence is deteriorating.

Hull said agents discovered a hole was cut on the chain-link fence near Calleros and Chihuahua streets. It's an incident Hull said is common with the chain-link fence that currently stands at the border

"It is easily breached by smugglers and expensive for us to repair at the same time we are seeing a significant increase in the number of illegal entries in this area,” said Hull.

KFOX14 has requested the number of illegal crossings that apply to the Chihuahuita neighborhood. However, a spokesman said they do not keep track of numbers by neighborhoods, rather by sector.

The El Paso sector expands into Hudspeth County and New Mexico.

The wall is to be a 4-mile section of existing chain link and expanded metal fence beginning just west of the Paso Del Norte international crossing and extending east to the Fonseca Road area. Existing barrier will be removed and an 18-feet-high steel bollard wall will be constructed in its place, said Hull.

During the news conference, demonstrators held signs that read, "Walls equal Death."

Women's March El Paso, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and community leaders were among the group of demonstrators.

Hull said U.S. Customs and Border Protection awarded a construction contract June 1 to West Point Contractors of Tucson, Arizona.

"Sometimes it’s one sometimes it’s two. The other day they grabbed about 2 boys a woman and 4 men,” said Chihuahuita resident Hector.

The construction project is expected to be completed in late April 2019 and is estimated to cost $22 million.

Hull said residents in the area will still be able to see through into Mexico.

He said its design will also help Border Patrol detect illegal entries and the smuggling of narcotics into the United States by providing situational awareness of activity south of the wall.

In April, border officials announced the construction of 20 new miles of border wall in Santa Teresa, N.M. The additional miles of the bollard wall there is completed ahead of schedule.