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Trump's wall prototypes to come down along U.S.-Mexico border

Money has already been set aside for their removal, a U.S. Border Patrol official said.
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President Donald Trump speaks during a tours as he reviews border wall prototypes on March 13, 2018, in San Diego, as Rodney Scott, the Border Patrol's San Diego sector chief, listens.Evan Vucci / AP file

SAN DIEGO — The eight border-wall prototypes President Donald Trump inspected during a visit to California in March are going to be torn down to make way for a second barrier separating California and Mexico, the U.S. Department of Customs and Border Protection said Friday.

Construction crews have replaced one layer of fencing along a 14-mile stretch of the border separating Mexico and California. Crews recently started work on replacing and extending a secondary fence as well.

Image: TOPSHOT-MEXICO-US-BORDER-WALL
President Donald Trump's border wall prototypes along the U.S.-Mexico border in California are set to be torn down to make way for secondary fencing.Guillermo Arias / AFP - Getty Images file

Border Patrol Agent Theron Francisco said Friday it isn't clear when the prototypes will come down but added that the money has already been set aside for their removal.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Friday they cost between $300,000 and $500,000 apiece to build.

"There is money already allocated to either take them down or build infrastructure around them. But the decision has been made at the national level to take them down, and the secondary replacement project will take their place," Francisco said.

Trump declared an emergency last week to shift billions of dollars to fund border wall construction.

The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives is set to vote next week on whether to block that declaration. Some members of the Republican-controlled Senate have indicated it could pass that body as well.

If it does, Trump has promised to veto the measure.