President Donald Trump tweeted pictures Wednesday of what he said was the start of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, but it is actually a fence in California that U.S. Border Patrol officials say should not be confused with the president's immigration wall.
"Great briefing this afternoon on the start of our Southern border wall," Trump said in his post, which was retweeted by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen:
But the wall is actually a fence in Calexico that would span about two miles along the border — and construction began last month.
"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," Border Patrol's David Kim told The Desert Sun in Palm Springs last month.
Kim said he wanted to make sure "there is no confusion about whether . . . this is tied to some of the bigger immigration debates that are currently going on."
The Los Angeles Times reported plans for the 30-foot fence began in 2009, though the $18 million anticipated cost was paid for through Homeland Security funds granted to Customs and Border Protection in Trump's first year.
The agency received about $260.9 million for "procurement, construction, and improvements," the Times reports.
In the $1.3 trillion omnibus budget bill President Trump signed Friday, Congress only appropriated $1.6 billion for fencing and other border security measures.
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