Eight prototype sections of Donald Trump's proposed border wall, costing US taxpayers $20m (£15m), are being demolished after months languishing in the California desert. The structures, erected south of San Diego near the Mexican border, have been torn down amid revelations of design flaws and failure to meet promised standards.
The demolition comes as the House of Representatives voted to block Trump's national emergency declaration, which sought to redirect funds for the wall. Despite Trump's repeated claim that Mexico would pay, no new wall has been built, with funds instead diverted from existing budgets. The prototypes were funded by the Department of Homeland Security in February 2017, a month after Trump took office.
Each prototype varied in slope, thickness and curves, with bidding guidelines requiring resistance to sledgehammers, pickaxes and torches. However, a government report revealed all eight were vulnerable to at least one breaching technique. US Customs and Border Protection tests confirmed the slabs could be breached, with seven of the eight demolished in under two hours using jackhammers.
Activists from the Backbone Campaign used the structures as a canvas for protest art, projecting messages such as 'Refugees Welcome Here' and the Statue of Liberty onto the prototypes before their destruction. 'Trump's wall is a false solution to a nonexistent problem,' said executive director Bill Moyer, calling it a waste of resources.
The wall prototypes had served primarily as a backdrop for a presidential visit and protest art. The administration has claimed that 'elements' of the designs have been incorporated into current barrier plans, but critics say the episode underscores the failure of Trump's signature campaign promise.
