By Gabby Morrongiello | Washington Examiner
A solar-paneled barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border is an option the Trump administration could pursue, according to a senior Customs and Border Protection official who has been closely monitoring the construction of prototypes that are meant to inspire a design for President Trump’s border wall.
Related: A first look at 8 possible versions of President Donald Trump’s border wall
Mario Villarreal, the newly appointed division chief for CBP’s San Diego field office, is enjoying his front-row seat to history as President Trump’s border wall continues to stir controversy 3,000 miles away in Washington.
Villarreal helps manage 2,200 front-line federal border patrol agents stationed at one of the busiest commercial ports of entry along the southern border of the U.S. But for the last four weeks, he has also kept a close eye on eight towering structures that are slowly being built behind San Diego’s secondary border barrier, a steel mesh fence that spans 13 miles and was built during Bill Clinton’s second term.