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Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., tweeted in March, \"Trump's wall is a waste of money and an insult to our values,\" with the hashtags \"#NoBanNoWall\" and \"#JointSession.\"

“Across the Southwest, border residents and local stakeholders like mayors and sheriffs are firmly opposed to President Trump’s folly endeavor, based on economic, environmental and humanitarian impacts,” said Lorella Praeli, the director of immigration policy and campaigns at the American Civil Liberties Union, in a July statement.

On Tuesday, CBP announced that during fiscal year 2017, there were 310,531 apprehensions by U.S. Border Patrol nationwide — the fewest in at least 17 years.

Of those apprehensions, nearly 98 percent were along the southwestern border.

In August the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, issued a waiver of certain laws, regulations and other legal requirements to expedite the prototype construction process.

\"PHOTO:
Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images
PHOTO: A Homeland Security border patrol vehicle monitors the border area where prototypes of President Trump's proposed border wall are standing, Nov. 1, 2017 in San Diego, California.
>

The waiver allowed CBP to disregard many laws, including the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

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.

All testing is being documented for the subsequent evaluation process, according to CBP.

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