On January 25, Trump signed an executive order putting Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly in charge of building the wall.
“We’re building the wall. In fact, it’s going to start soon,” Trump stated in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “It’s way, way, way ahead of schedule.”
Kelly released a memo on Tuesday ordering Customs and Border Protection to begin the construction without any delay, and ordered to identify and allocate all sources of possible funding for the wall.
Trump’s demand that Mexico fully covers the cost of the border wall has prompted Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to cancel a planned summit with Trump in Washington, DC which had been slated to be held earlier in February. The Mexican government has said it would not pay for the border wall.