A ceremony celebrating the half-mile construction of a private-owned wall was held in Sunland Park, New Mexico, on Mar. 30.
WINNING!! @WeBuildtheWall was given the green light yesterday afternoon by the city of Sunland Park to resume construction, and our permits were re-issued. From the start We Build The Wall, Inc complied with all regulations as required by law as we stated.@JackPosobiec #Trump pic.twitter.com/XcUnMKvK3i
— Brian Kolfage (@BrianKolfage) May 30, 2019
Brian Kolfage, veteran and founder of the project, shared a pair of scissors with seven-year-old Benton Stevens, cutting the red ceremonial ribbon in front of the new steel barrier. The day is a milestone in Kolfage’s mission to help seal the porous Southwest Border.
This incredible young man Benton from Austin Texas raised $22k for We Build The Wall, Inc. He was one of our biggest donors and only 7 years old! It shows you that no matter what you can always make a large impact you just need to work hard! @DonaldJTrumpJr @gatewaypundit pic.twitter.com/Yh1OTlqfp5
— Brian Kolfage (@BrianKolfage) May 31, 2019
Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) have said the southern border has reached an emergency level crisis. Its facilities are at maximum capacity, forcing the agency to release asylum seekers into the United States—regardless of their cases’ merit—with a future court date.
To Kolfage, this unprecedented crisis is an attack on Americans, stating on his website that too many “have been murdered by illegal aliens.” He added that illegal immigration also costs taxpayer dollars.
After serving the military and sacrificing three of his limbs, Kolfage began a GoFundMe campaign for $1 billion in December to help build the wall—and he’s raised more than $23 million.
Media day is going great! pic.twitter.com/UXnVNpoKkb
— Brian Kolfage (@BrianKolfage) May 30, 2019
First Step in El Paso
“Over the last 57 days … from the time I set foot here, I rolled across into Mexico and rolled back in my wheelchair,” said Kolfage in a speech before the ceremony. “And at that point I knew that this was a bad area.”
The wall is being constructed in the El Paso District, which covers parts of Texas and New Mexico. On Memorial Day, over 2,200 illegal aliens—who entered illegally—were apprehended in that district, according to a press release by CBP.
1,036 individuals were apprehended by El Paso Sector Border Patrol as part of a large group yesterday morning. This is the largest group ever encountered illegally crossing the border. All the individuals were from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. https://t.co/bAIYh4XRFf pic.twitter.com/HybMuBvcTj
— CBP (@CBP) May 30, 2019
According to the release, “This fiscal year to date the El Paso Sector has arrested over 130 thousand illegal aliens, compared to over 16,000 during the same time last fiscal year.”
Kolfage spoke to landlords in that area, and one told him that he has to “carry a gun loaded 24/7.” About 10 property owners have given him clearance to build the wall on their land.
The general council of We Build the Wall, Kris Kobach, said in a video that the barrier will cross a heavily trafficked area in the district. The wall is about 18 feet tall and is made of high-quality steel, with a lifespan of 75 years.
Here’s the FOX and Friends segment from this morning on We Build the Wall’s first project. This half-mile section of privately-funded wall fills a gap in the El Paso metro through which 100 migrants per night were entering the country. https://t.co/YgJUBPoEIg
— Kris W. Kobach (@KrisKobach1787) May 27, 2019
Funding the Wall With Hot Chocolate
Benton Stevens earned his share of the scissors for raising $22,000 with a hot chocolate stand, then donating the money to the project.
The boy can be seen giving a high five to Kolfage and receiving praise in a tweet by Epoch Times reporter Charlotte Cuthbertson.
Ribbon-cutting for new wall. Benton Stevens, who raised $22k for the wall with his hot chocolate stand, and We Build the Wall founder Brian Kolfage. pic.twitter.com/Gblrno12zK
— Charlotte Cuthbertson (@charlottecuthbo) May 31, 2019
He also received donations, but according to Fox News, the seven-year-old met with some challenges, such as name-calling, for his fundraising.
Benton was not alone. Kolfage and the project met with an obstacle on May 28. The mayor of Sunland Park filed a cease-and-desist order against the project, which stunted the non-profit’s progress by about 36 hours.
The general council said during an update that the city was “incorrect” in filing the order, as no violation was made.
“We had done our homework long before we did this project and our homework was correct,” said Kobach.
But to the founder, the biggest obstacle was the media.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there from fake news that we’re misappropriating funds,” said Kolfage. “It’s 100 percent not true. As you can see behind me, we built this wall.”
The wall is projected to be completed on Saturday.
