The prototypes for Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico have been completed, and the six participating companies, whose names have been publicly released, are beginning to face some serious pushback.
Since the bidding process began, companies vying for the construction contract have received nonstop calls and criticism, been the site of protests, have received countless death threats, and according to one company, have even had their tractors stolen. Accused of betraying their own community, Hispanic-owned construction firms participating in the bidding process have faced the most backlash.
Security work along the border has always been contentious and companies that have worked on the border fence as well as related roads and lighting have always experienced various levels of harassment. However, things are more charged nowadays.
Beyond public criticism, companies competing to bid Trump's wall are facing legislative opposition on both the local and state level. Berkeley, Oakland and Richmond in California and Tucson, Arizona, have already passed resolutions to stop doing business with firms involved in building the wall or to divest from them. States such as New York, California, Arizona, Illinois and Rhode Island have all had similar financial penalty bills introduced as well.
Some of these stand virtually no chance of becoming law, particularly those proposed in Republican controlled states. But, even in blue states like California, where chances are greater, legislation of this nature may be unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution's equal protection law. Constitutional lawyer Robert McWhirter told the San Diego Union-Tribune that a case could be made that these laws, in addition, "violate the supremacy clause, which makes the Constitution the law of the land, and the commerce clause, which prohibits states from passing laws that burden interstate commerce."
From the beginning, many vendors had asked the government to keep names confidential to prevent protest but U.S. Customs and Border Protection refused. Now, construction companies are asking for other forms of federal protection which include preventing cities and states from penalizing them.
According to Bloomberg, the Associated General Contractors of America have asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to sue to prevent states and localities from denying contracts or divesting from companies that participate in wall construction. They've also asked for "assurances that local authorities will provide reasonable protection for workers and equipment on job sites, as well as contractor reimbursement for security costs or damage from vandalism." Sessions and the Justice Department have yet to respond publicly to the request.
did anybody put a gun on your head to volunteer to build that thing? now you're crying? too bad....chose your business wisely.
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old city walls are wonderful remnants of bygone civilizations. You have to admire trumps foresight in this instance.
did anybody put a gun on your head to volunteer to build that thing? now you're crying? too bad....chose your business wisely.
Ha! Yes Koww when the great American experiment rapidly crumbles into a failure, with immigrants no longer wanting to come here and the local population ravaged by unchecked pollution and climate change disasters, these was will remain as a testimony to our folly. Hooray!
I keep wondering... is there no way to make this misbegotten wall allow for animal migration patterns? Are they not thinking about that at all, or is it not an issue? I haven't seen any reporting done on this aspect.
There are some seriously ignorant comments here. I mean...why do Liberal Snowflakes freak out about concerned United States Citizens wanting to mitigate the insanity of hordes of people, drugs, and who knows what else...entering our sovereign nation - completely unchecked and unvetted? Do none of these genius Liberals equate issues like the outbreak of measles and other issues - once completely eradicated from our nation - now causing chaos because infected people are just strolling through unchecked and also so-called asylum seekers being released into the interior, unchecked, and infecting others? Proper vetting consist of more than just background checks. Amazing...Liberal ideology is setting this nation back decades!
what a wanker. Must be fun to be this fucking ignorant.
Fuck off racist maga.
ray, what else? and measles outbreaks are caused by stupid assholes like you who don't want the govt to tell them what to do but want the government to protect them from their own stupidity. paranoid asshole.
you're lost, this isnt Stormfront
Even New York Times ultra liberal columnist Thomas Friedman has recently said there needs to be a wall built and immigration controlled.
yeah, listen to the zionist prick, he's got "ideas". fuck this guy.
"ultra liberal columnist Thomas Friedman" hahahahahahahaha
you must know, What happened to the disabled vet that was collecting money for that? Did he reach the goal or just ran away with the cash?
nevermind, he's still living the dream
No matter the truth of that opinion , Trump is not the person to be making these decisions. He's incompetent and totally compromised.
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