San Diego-  President Donald Trump signed his name on a newly constructed section of U.S.-Mexico border wall, calling it a “world-class security system” that will be virtually impenetrable.

Trump's Border wall tour in San Diego 

Trump toured a section of border wall in San Diego’s Otay Mesa area on Wednesday. It was a return trip for Republican president, who traveled re in March 2018 to see border wall protos that authorities later destroyed to make way for 14 miles (22.4 kilometers) of steel, concrete-filled bollards currently under construction.

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Before construction began, border in San Diego was protected by an initial layer of sheet metal that was easily blow-torched and a second, more formidable layer that could be compromised with powerful, battery-operated saws.

“It was like sheet metal, and people would just kck it over like just routinely,” Trump said, referring to initial layer that was replaced. He stood with construction workers and top Customs and Border Protection, Army Corps of Engineers and homeland security officials.

Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, defended project, dismissing critics who call it “president’s vanity wall.”

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“I’m here to tell you that’s false,” he said, telling reporters that Trump reached out to border experts to find out what y needed. “You listened to nts,” he told Trump.

“You can fry an egg on that wall.": Donald Trump

Trump highlighted features of wall, which he said have been studied by three or countries. He said wall absorbs heat — “You can fry an egg on that wall.” concrete goes deep into ground to prevent tunneling. And nts can see through it to spot possible threats on Mexican side of border, he said.

“When wall is built, it will be virtually impossible to come over illegally, and n we’re able to take border control and put m at points of entry,” Trump said.

He heaped praise on Mexican government, especially for sending tens of thousands of troops to its rrn and sourn borders to help slow flow of migrants heed toward United States. He said President Andres Manuel Lopez Obror “has been great.”

“We’re all thrilled,” Trump said. “You kw Mexico has never done anything to impede people from pouring into our country and w y’re doing just opposite. y’ve really been incredible.”

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president reveled in details of construction, saying Border Patrol and military officials persued him to opt more expensive designs. He said he dropped a preference for solid concrete, inste opting for concrete-filled steel bollards that allow nts to see through to Mexico to spot assailants throwing rocks or or projectiles. He agreed to go along with barriers that are 30 feet (9 meters) high and double-layered in heavily traveled areas.

“It’s Rolls-Royce version,” Trump said.

When Trump asked Army Corps Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite to explain how techlogy embedded in wall alerts nts to illegal activity, he was told, “Sir, re could be some merit in t discussing it.”

Semonite offered new details on pace of construction that underscored how quickly ministration plans to move.

It has built 66 miles (106 kilometers), has 251 miles (403 kilometers) in various sts of construction at 17 sites and has contracts for 163 miles (262 kilometers) planned in next 90 days, general said. ditional land on private property is expected to take more time.

Crews are installing 270 panels a day, each one with eight bollards.

Trump, whose construction targets have shifted, said he expects to build up to about 550 miles (885 kilometers) of a wall along 1,954-mile (3,126-kilometer) border and said ministration will pause at about 400 miles (643 kilometers) to assess what more is needed.

Trump said cost concerns led him to put aside his preference to paint wall black, which absorbs heat. He said wall was “a good, strong rust color” and could be painted later.

Trump is riding a string of wins on wall and on immigration in general. Arrests on Mexican border arrests plunged in August, well beyond usual summer dip, from a 13-year high reached in May. Arrests are still relatively high, topping 50,000 in 10 of last 11 months, compared with only eight months over previous dece.

Last week, Supreme Court gave Trump a green light to deny asylum to anyone who passes through ar country on way to U.S. border with Mexico without having first sought protection in third country.

Pentagon recently diverted $3.6 billion from 127 military construction projects to build 175 miles (280 kilometers) of barriers on border. Trump h promised during 2016 presidential campaign that Mexico would pay for wall.

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