Trump’s top border official defends Big Bend border wall plan despite mounting opposition

CBP commissioner Rodney Scott says $46bn Texas project is justified amid court-ordered pause on wall's construction

The Trump administration's top border official defended plans to build a wall and other infrastructure in the Big Bend of Texas despite mounting opposition against the project and a court-ordered pause on construction, saying his goal of fortifying the country's borders was non-negotiable".

Rodney Scott, the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), said the $46bn wall project was justified despite a bipartisan coalition of landowners, local businesses and environmentalists who view it as a waste of taxpayer money that could be destructive to a region with historically low migrant crossings, in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press.