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US military personnel will spend next month painting the border wall, a report said Wednesday. But at least two Democrats voted against the plan.
Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Tweeted that the Department of Homeland Security had informed Congress that troops deployed at the US-Mexico border would work to improve the "aesthetic appearance" of the wall.
But Durbin also criticized the move as a "shameful" use of taxpayers' money.
SKYROCKET ARRIVES AT FRONTIER IN MAY, EMERGENCY DECLARATION FULL OF EMERGENCY
"Our soldiers have a bigger job to do than make the wall of Trump beautiful," he wrote.
An indeterminate number of service members have been assigned to paint the barriers in the city of Calexico, California, just north of the Mexican border, according to an email sent to members of Congress by DHS. A copy of the text of the email was provided to CBS News by a congressional assistant.
US representative Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, described the paint job as "misuse" of the military.
"They are soldiers, they are not painters," CBS News Castro, the twin brother of presidential candidate Julian Castro, told CBS News.
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The number of apprehended migrants at the US-Mexico border soared last month to levels not seen in more than a decade, with US Customs and US border protection reporting nearly 133,000 arrests in May.
"We are in a state of emergency," a CBP official told Fox News on Wednesday. The number of apprehensions was the highest monthly total for over 13 years. In April, the authorities recorded 99,304 arrests.
Brooke Singman and Jake Gibson of Fox News contributed to this report.
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