He’s a Trump supporter living in Mexico, he runs a small company that sells LED lighting, and he wants to be part of building the new U.S. border wall. But Ted Atalla says that’s not sitting very well with his compatriots.
“Honestly, all hell broke loose, and we have become a political object overnight,” Mr. Atalla, a U.S. citizen, told The Washington Times. “We have had nonstop calls and interviews and criticism from here calling us traitors, but slowly people are commenting favorably about us here and there.”
Mr. Atalla is owner of one of more than 200 companies, stretching from Alaska to Florida, that have expressed interest in helping construct the border wall. Initial proposals for prototypes are due Tuesday.
Mr. Atalla said he was hoping for a small part as a lighting contractor, working on the Mexican side. He said he realizes he probably runs afoul of President Trump’s “buy American” admonition and doubts he’ll get any work, but wanted to keep his options open.
Just registering his name has drawn unwanted attention, and Mr. Atalla said he didn’t mean to cause a political furor. Still, he says he voted for Mr. Trump in the election, campaigned for him in Mexico last year and is “100 percent behind our president.”
“I believe that the border wall will be a great thing for both countries,” he said.
His is the only Mexican business to have expressed an interest so far.
Most of those that have registered as interested vendors are small or medium-size businesses, including several that specialize in building fences.
The Long Fence Company, a staple of the Washington metropolitan region, is one of those. The company didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. That wasn’t unusual; a number of the companies that The Times tried to contact about their wall bids didn’t answer.
One company that did respond promised an interview, then canceled, saying it feared political blowback at its West Coast location.
“We are a very small company with less than 40 employees, and are not taking any sides related to the issues of the wall,” a company employee said. “We just have a product to sell, and if the wall is to be built, we have a partial solution. Besides, it is our view that it is better for any U.S. company to get the work than products coming from China.”
Berkeley and Oakland, two cities in California, have already adopted rules saying that any company that helps build the border wall won’t be allowed to do business with their cities. Other jurisdictions are pondering similar boycotts.
“Time to move beyond symbolic protest to protect our deepest values,” tweeted San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who has introduced similar legislation for her county. She said she’s earned both fierce feedback and outspoken support for her stance.
Wall opponents have also vowed strict scrutiny of the construction.
American Oversight, an anti-Trump group, last week announced its “Audit the Wall” project. It has already submitted seven open-records requests seeking records and emails on the cost, schedule and design of the proposed wall.
“Congress is preaching the gospel of fiscal austerity when it comes to the budget, but it seems no cost is too high when it comes to helping the president fulfill a campaign promise of dubious utility,” American Oversight executive director Austin Evers said in a statement announcing the audit project.
“American Oversight will audit the wall because Congress won’t — and the American people deserve to know where our money is going,” Mr. Evers said.
So far Mr. Trump has asked for about $1 billion in 2017 and more than $2 billion in 2018 to begin construction. But his top budget official has said the big money will be needed in 2019.
CNN reported this week that the $1 billion in 2017 will cover 62 miles of fencing, for a cost of more than $16 million per mile. That’s far more than the going rate in recent years, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) paid between $4.2 million and $6.9 million per mile.
In a statement Wednesday, CBP pushed back against the various cost estimates that have leaked, calling them “premature.”
“Until prototypes are completed and evaluated and design determinations are made, CBP cannot provide a more detailed estimate of the total cost of a border barrier system,” the agency said.
The controversial nature of the wall pervades the entire project.
Vendors have asked whether the government is prepared to indemnify contractors against lawsuits, citing “the politically contentious nature of this program.”
The administration said that wasn’t in the cards right now.
One vendor asked the government to keep names confidential “to protect our employees from potential media backlash.” CBP said all key personnel were required to be listed, but the information is deemed confidential as part of the procurement process and won’t be publicly released.
A CBP spokesman said the agency is following all the usual rules for contracts. “Specific design proposals will be protected,” the spokesman said.
The submissions will go a long way toward determining what the eventual barrier looks like. The work order calls for a minimum of 18 feet but envisions a 30-foot wall. Both steel-enforced concrete and nonconcrete proposals are being sought.
The wall must be able to withstand attempts to cut it for at least 30 minutes, but a four-hour window is preferable, the contract documents said.
One potential vendor asked whether barbed wire, razor ribbon or spikes were allowed for the top of the fence, and meant to work as anti-climbing devices. CBP contracting officials didn’t dissuade them, saying it was up to each contractor to figure out what works.
Another company said it wanted to use AI, or artificial intelligence, to detect border threats. The government did reject that suggestion, saying it was looking for actual infrastructure, not technology, for the barrier.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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