Government agency forces open private border wall gate

A federal agency has forced open a gate in the privately funded wall near the US-Mexico border, saying the group that built it didn't follow proper permitting procedures.

The US section of the International Boundary and Water Commission says the gate was blocking a government-owned levee road, and that the group known as We Build the Wall constructed the gate on federal land without authority.

"It's not the border wall that we have a problem with," spokeswoman Lori Kuczmanski said. "The problem is the gate is on federal property. You just can't come in and build a gate on somebody's property without asking .

"After repeated requests to unlock and open the private gate, the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), accompanied by two uniformed law enforcement officers from the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office, removed the private lock, opened the gate, and locked the gate open pending further discussions with We Build the Wall," the commission's US section said in a statement.

The dispute pits We Build the Wall, an organization that raised more than $20 million for border wall construction in a GoFundMe campaign, against the US section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, a federal agency charged with applying boundary and water treaties between the US and Mexico. The commission -- which has US and Mexican counterparts -- operates flood control levees, wastewater treatment plants and boundary monuments at numerous locations along the US-Mexico border, including the American Dam located near We Build the Wall's barrier. Its US section is headquartered in El Paso, Texas.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/government-agency-forces-open-private-border-wall-gate/ar-AACJjcA?ocid=spartandhp