On Tuesday, CBP announced that during fiscal year 2017, there were a total of 310,531 apprehensions by U.S. Border Patrol nationwide — the lowest total number in at least 17 years.
Of those apprehensions, nearly 98 percent were along the southwest border.
In August, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees CBP, issued a waiver to certain laws, regulations and other legal requirements to expedite the prototype construction process.
The waiver allowed CBP to disregard laws such as the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, along with many more.
However, CBP said that it will be committed to environmental and cultural stewardship.
The physical tests are expected to take place over the next two weeks.
Evaluators are going through a “very regimented process” during this assessment phase “to ensure when it’s completed we have the best information available,” said Diaz.
CBP is evaluating all the breach attempts and how long they take.
Everything is being complied and documented for the evaluation process that comes afterward, according to CBP.
Article Appeared @http://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-administration-begins-testing-border-wall-prototypes-prevent/story?id=51607378