Prototypes for President Donald Trump's U.S.-Mexico border wall proposal are set to be built later this summer, according to the agency who handles U.S. border security.
Four to eight companies will get the contracts for the prototypes and have 30 days to finish them, according to Ronald Vitiello, acting deputy commissioner at Customs and Border Protection, Fox News reports.
The U.S. border with Mexico currently contains 654 miles of fencing, according to Fox News.
The prototypes will be added to existing border walls in San Diego, which would help the agency determine which prototypes would help Border Patrol agents with response time for dealing with illegal drugs and human smuggling, according to The New York Times.
"We own that land, have access to it and it's a good place to start testing in a real-world environment," Vitiello said, according to The Times.
Vitiello said about 130 miles along the border would not be suitable for wall construction, because of water or other terrain issues, The Times reports.
Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol's parent agency, has not yet selected the vendors to construct the prototypes, but it has gotten hundreds of bids, officials told The Times.
The wall design must include features that prevent climbing, and that "prevent digging or tunneling below it for a minimum of six feet below the lowest adjacent grade," according to Customs and Border Protection requests, The Times reports.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, has called into question the use of a border wall. "I don't think we're just going to be able to solve border security with a physical barrier because people can come under, around it, and through it," Cornyn said, according to The Times.
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