Members of the military have been tasked with painting barriers spanning one mile long to enhance their “aesthetic appearance,” CBS News reports. An email message from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notified lawmakers Wednesday of the month-long project, noting that an unspecified number of military personnel were ready to begin painting the barriers along the California border town of Calexico. “While the primary purpose is to improve the aesthetic appearance of the wall, there may also be an operational benefit based on our experience with painted barrier in Nogales, Arizona,” the email reportedly said. DHS noted that painting border barriers in Tucson, Arizona, had given Border Patrol an advantage when going up against “camouflaging tactics of illegal border crossers.” Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, called the assignment a “disgraceful misuse” of taxpayer dollars. “Our military has more important work to do than making Trump’s wall beautiful,” he posted on Twitter.
DHS informed Congress today that troops are going to spend the next month painting the border wall & “the primary purpose is to improve the aesthetic appearance.” A disgraceful misuse of taxpayer $$. Our military has more important work to do than making Trump’s wall beautiful.
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) June 5, 2019
