Pentagon Shifts $1B In Funding To Plan And Build 57 Miles of Border Wall

WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Defense shifted $1 billion to plan and build a 57-mile section of “pedestrian fencing”, roads and lighting along the border between the United States and Mexico, the Pentagon chief said on Monday. 

Last week, the Pentagon gave Congress a list that included $12.8 billion of construction projects for which it said funds could be redirected for construction along the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency last month in a bid to fund his promised border wall without congressional approval. 

Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said in a memo to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen that the Department of Defense had the authority to support counter-narcotics activities near international boundaries.

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