On Friday, President Donald Trump stood in front of recently-refurbished border wall along the California-Mexico border and boasted that it was the beginning of construction on the wall he promised voters in the 2016 campaign. And Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen installed commemorative plaque bearing Trump’s name last fall along that section of the fencing, declaring it “the first section of President Trump’s border wall.” Except, wait: That particular section of wall was actually just a replacement of fence that had been there for decades. And the refurbishment was approved during the Barack Obama administration in 2009. The funding for Trump’s border wall, meanwhile, is still tied up in Congress. “We just wanted to get out in front of it and let everybody know that this is a local tactical infrastructure project that was planned for quite some time,” David Kim, assistant chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol’s El Centro sector, told the Desert Sun, adding that he wanted to ensure “there is no confusion about whether… this is tied to some of the bigger immigration debates that are currently going on.” A recent federal court victory allowed the Trump administration to move forward with replacing the fencing thanks to a federal ruling allowing them to bypass environmental laws to speed construction. And the president boastfully tweeted about it recently, again claiming it was part of “the Wall.” I have decided that sections of the Wall that California wants built NOW will not be built until the whole Wall is approved. Big victory yesterday with ruling from the courts that allows us to proceed. OUR COUNTRY MUST HAVE BORDER SECURITY! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2018 It’s a classic Trumpian move: claim credit for something that was actually President Obama’s doing. He’s done it with the economy and jobs, and now with the border wall.<doc-sep>President Donald Trump made another visit on Friday to the nation's southern border, where he boasted of building a new wall in Calexico, California. That may come as a surprise to residents of the border city, who have lived with fencing for decades. In the 1990s, metal scraps and landing mats were recycled to build fencing. In 2009, Obama-era officials identified the project for an upgrade, Customs and Border Protection officials have said. The project was funded in Trump's first year in office. Last February, CBP said that they’d begun replacing 2.25 mile of outdated fencing built from recycled metal scraps and landing mat with 30-foot steel bollard fencing. The project was completed in October, and the White House has been touting it ever since. Trump's visit comes after the president walked back threats to shut down the entire southern border, instead saying he'd give Mexico a "one-year warning" to stop drugs from entering the U.S. He also said he would impose auto tariffs before closing the border. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen visited the Calexico fences last fall, and had a plaque attached to the fence. "This plaque was installed on October 26, 2018, to commemorate the completion of the first section of President Trump’s border wall," the plaque reads, below the presidential seal, Trump's name, and several officials' names. Trump campaigned on a promise to build a "big, beautiful wall," which he specifically said would not be a fence. During his first year in office, Trump signed an executive order calling for the wall to be built. He built and unveiled eight border wall prototypes in 2017. Some were concrete structures like he'd promised and some were steel fences like the border authorities had requested. All were demolished earlier this year. To date, the administration only completed the repair and replacement of older border fencing, all while claiming that the president's promise to build a brand new, concrete wall is being kept.<doc-sep>
A section of fencing at the U.S.-Mexico border labeled as the first piece of President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE's border wall is part of an upgrade project first approved during the Obama administration, NBC reported. The 2.25 mile section of fencing was first built in the 1990s out of scrap metal and landing mats that were recycled into a barrier. NBC reports that officials under former President Obama approved that section of fencing for an upgrade in 2009, and the project was then funded and completed by Trump. According to NBC, the Trump administration started the work upgrading the section in February 2018, and it was completed in October. ADVERTISEMENT The section now has a plaque that reads: "This plaque was installed on October 26, 2018, to commemorate the completion of the first section of President Trump’s border wall." The plaque also features Trump's name, the names of several officials and the presidential seal. Trump is in California this weekend to discuss immigration and the border wall, as well as to attend fundraising events. In February, Trump declared a national emergency in order to divert federal funding to the wall from other sources. The decision has led to a lawsuit from House Democrats, after Trump vetoed their initial resolution opposing the declaration. Attorney General William Barr said at the time of Trump’s order that the president had the legal authority to declare the national emergency. Trump campaigned on the promise of building a border wall along the southern United States border and having Mexico pay for it. He has since made immigration policy a priority during his first two years in office.