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One in 10 firms bidding to build Trump's wall are Hispanic

Ten percent of the companies interested in bidding for the first stage of the construction of Don...
Newstalk
Newstalk

17.29 11 Mar 2017


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One in 10 firms bidding to bui...

One in 10 firms bidding to build Trump's wall are Hispanic

Newstalk
Newstalk

17.29 11 Mar 2017


Share this article


Ten percent of the companies interested in bidding for the first stage of the construction of Donald Trump’s border wall with Mexico are Hispanic-owned businesses.

More than 600 businesses have formally registered interest since February 24th, when the Department of Homeland Security issued a presolicitation notice for contractors to perform the “design and build of several prototype wall structures” for the border.

The notice, which provides few details beyond asking for 30ft tall “concrete wall structures”, is the first step toward fulfilling Trump’s campaign promise of building a “great, great wall on our southern border” to keep out Mexican immigrants, whom he has characterized as criminals and “rapists”.

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A February 2017 poll by Pew Research Center found that 62% of Americans opposed the project, with especially high opposition (83%) from Hispanics.

During his first week in office, the president signed an executive order to move ahead with “existing funds and resources” to start construction, which he once promised would be paid for by the Mexican government. Only about $20m in funds currently exist, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. That amount would cover about one to two miles of the 1,000-mile, $21bn (€18m) project.

Travel ban

Meanwhile, the federal judge that originally froze Trump's travel ban has declined to say whether it applies to his new immigration order.

Citing procedural reasons, US District Judge James Robart said in an order that motions or a complaint over the revised ban need to be filed before he can make a decision. The states of Washington and Minnesota, as well as the Justice Department, have only so far filed notices.

The US Justice Department said in a filing this week that the original order had been revoked and that the court’s restraining order does not limit the government’s ability to immediately begin enforcing the new order.


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