Privately funded "We Build the Wall" is in violation, says mayor

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (KFOX14) — The privately funded border wall is in violation of city ordinance, according to Javier Perea, the mayor of City of Sunland Park.

According to Perea, the owner of the land submitted an application for a wall with the City of Sunland Park on Friday, but officials found that the paperwork was incomplete.

The “We Build the Wall” structure was erected on private land owned by American Eagle Brick company over Memorial Day weekend.

A cease-and-desist order was given to the owner of the property, Perea said.

”On Thursday, we were denied entry to the location and then, on Friday, the owner of the property did come to the city of Sunland Park and submitted an application for a permit,” said Perea.

No site plan for the project was provided to Sunland Park, he added. A wall can only be six feet tall under the city’s ordinance.

But the company behind the wall claims the city had permitted them to build the wall.

"One official gave us the all-clear on Thursday. Another gave us the all-clear on Friday. And that's actually when they came down and examined the site and told us we could proceed,” said Chris Kobach, a representative for We Build the Wall.

The mayor said those claims are not true and that he wasn't aware of any city official giving the company permission to build.

Dustin Stockton, co-founder of the nonprofit WeBuildtheWall Inc., told KFOX14 during a tour at the wall that it is "mostly up" and should be completed by the end of the week.

”In less than 60 days, we conceptualized and implemented a project of this scale, and everyone's taking a lot of pride in that,” said Stockton.

The site of the wall is currently in a work stoppage, but both sides say they are prepared to take this dispute to court unless it is resolved.