A company that heavily lobbied President Trump is part of the lucrative business of constructing the new steel wall along the border in 蜜柚直播.
An up-close look at the 30-foot-tall, rust-colored steel poles that make up the wall recently erected along the border in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument reveals the words 鈥淎tlas Tube鈥 on them.
Atlas Tube is the Chicago-based division of Zekelman Industries, a company run by Barry Zekelman, a Canadian billionaire who led a wide-ranging effort to urge Trump and other officials to place tariffs and import quotas on steel. That effort included a $1.75 million donation to a pro-Trump super PAC and meeting with Trump and others in April 2018.
The $891 million in contracts to build 43 miles of wall on Organ Pipe and part of the adjacent Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge were awarded in May to Southwest Valley Constructors, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. Southwest Valley Constructors is a New Mexico-based affiliate of construction giant Kiewit.
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So far, the wall in Organ Pipe stands along 5 to 10 miles of the border about 150 miles southwest of 蜜柚直播. Each panel of bollards contains eight 6-inch-wide bollards 4 inches apart. With those measurements, more than 30,000 bollards would be needed for the 43 miles of wall on Organ Pipe and Cabeza Prieta.
The rest of the wall on Cabeza Prieta will be built by Fisher Sand and Gravel, which is under scrutiny by the inspector general of the Department of Defense. The company鈥檚 head, Tommy Fisher, led what he called a 鈥渨hirlwind media campaign鈥 and paid lobbyists more than $100,000 to discuss the wall with lawmakers.
The inspector general probe, which is ongoing, came after the Washington Post quoted officials saying Trump personally and repeatedly urged the head of the Army Corps to award a $268 million contract to Fisher, even after Fisher鈥檚 bid was rejected. The value of the contract could rise to nearly $400 million if all options are exercised.
Zekelman鈥檚 lobbying effort, detailed last May by the New York Times, included a $1.75 million donation by Wheatland Tube, also a division of Zekelman Industries, to a pro-Trump super PAC in 2018.
Those funds made Wheatland Tube one of the largest donors to the America First Action super PAC in 2018, according to the Federal Election Commission. The only people who donated more to the PAC that year were: Las Vegas casino owner Sheldon Adelson and his wife; Texas bank president Andrew Beal; Miami casino owner Cherna Moskowitz; and Beverly Hills real estate developer Geoffrey Palmer.
America First Action is led by former officials and surrogates for the Trump administration, such as Linda McMahon, according to the PAC鈥檚 website.
A border marker stands next to a newly installed segment of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border east of Lukeville. There are still many gaps 鈥 some short, some long 鈥 along the wall.
Representatives of Zekelman Industries told the New York Times that the donation did not violate prohibitions on foreign political donations. Zekelman said he reacted favorably when presented with the idea of making the donation, but the final decision was made by the board of U.S.-based Wheatland Tube.
During an April 30, 2018, meal with Trump and others, Zekelman can be heard talking to Trump about tariffs and import quotas on steel, according to the New York Times.
A recording of the meeting was released in January by Lev Parnas, a former associate of Trump鈥檚 personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Atlas Tube was founded in Ontario, Canada, in 1984, according to the company鈥檚 website, and has steel mills in Ontario; Chicago; Birmingham, Alabama; Blytheville, Arkansas; and Plymouth, Missouri. The company claims to be the 鈥渓argest structural steel tubing producer in North America.鈥
All Atlas Tube products supplied for border wall construction are produced at the company鈥檚 facilities in the United States, according to a statement from Atlas Tube provided by Jelani Rucker, vice president of business development at Zekelman Industries. The words 鈥淢ade in the USA鈥 are stamped onto the bollards on Organ Pipe, along with the bollards鈥 dimensions and dates, such as 鈥6/18/2019鈥 or 鈥8/23/2019.鈥
Rucker did not respond to a request for comment about the political donations and Zekelman鈥檚 comments in the Parnas recording.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced in July that Atlas Tube would build a second steel mill in Blytheville after a Supreme Court decision the previous week allowed the Trump administration to fund the border wall.
Atlas Tube has begun a $150 million expansion of the Blytheville facility that will add over 500,000 square feet of manufacturing space and increase employment, according to the statement from Atlas Tube.
Photos of the U.S. 鈥 Mexico border fence
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A dog stands on a road commonly used by Border Patrol near Slaughter Ranch Museum Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A border monument on the Mexico side of the border seen east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
The San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge sits on the U.S. side of the border with Mexico east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A bull and cow graze near the site of new wall construction east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
The border seen stretching from hills east of Douglas into the Guadalupe Mountains Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
Flowers grow around border fencing near the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
Construction equipment set up at the site of new border wall construction on the US/Mexico border east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A Border Patrol tower on the hills east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
Memorials place on graves at Julia Page Memorial Park in Douglas which sits along the U.S./Mexico border Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A car drives through Douglas on a road parallel to the U.S./Mexico border wall Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
The Slaughter Ranch homestead Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A lake on the Slaughter Ranch Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A toy rocking horse placed on the side of East Geronimo Trail with a sign advertising five minute pony rides for 25 cents Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
Highway 2 in Mexico winds its way to Agua Prieta Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
The vehicle in a ditch was driven through the international border fence in Agua Prieta, Mex., into Douglas, 蜜柚直播 in July 1987.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
Mexican citizens run back into Agua Prieta, Mexico through a hole in the border fence at Douglas, Ariz., after the U.S. Border Patrol scared them back across the border in 1997.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
The Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry on May 1, 2018, in Douglas, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
The Douglas, Ariz., border crossing in 1968.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
U.S./Mexico border fencing next to a old church building in Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
Old border posts line the U.S./Mexico line near Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
A Soal Off Roading sticker placed on a U.S./Mexico border post near Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
Mountains in Santa Cruz County seen from Duquesne Road between Nogales and Lochiel seen Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
A monument in Lochiel marking where Fray Marcos De Niza entered 蜜柚直播 Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
Brothers Ramon and Ed De La Ossa mend fencing on their family's ranch in Lochiel after moving cattle Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. The ranch which used to span both sides of the U.S./Mexico border has been in the family for three generations.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
Ed De La Ossa mends fencing on his family's ranch in Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. The ranch which used to span both sides of the U.S./Mexico border has been in the family for three generations.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
Ed De La Ossa moves cattle on his family's ranch in Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
U.S. Customs inspector Helen Mills, right, greets Mexican counterpart Raymundo Aguirre Castillo at the U.S. - Mexican border station at Lochiel, Ariz., in 1979.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
The US Customs building, right, at Lochiel, Ariz., is just a short distance away from the international border in May 1972. For ten years, Mills has been managing the port of entry, which is mostly made up of five houses, a school and an vacant church, inspecting vehicles as they head into the US. During the week, from Monday through Saturday, Mills opens the border gate from 8 am to 10 am and from 4 pm to 6 pm. On Sunday the gate is open from 8 am to 6 pm. In that time barely a dozen vehicles make their way across the border but it is a major convenience to the local residents.聽
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
Pedestrians walk to the Nogales port of entry Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
A pedestrian walks across North Grand Avenue in Nogales near the U.S./Mexico port of entries Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer R. Hernandez uses a density-measuring device on the rear quarter-panel of a Mexico-bound passenger vehicle at the DeConcini Port of Entry on Nov. 2, 2016, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
A Customs and Border Protection officer makes a visual check of a man's identification at the DeConcini Port of Entry on Feb. 15, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz. Busts of fraudulent border-crossing documents and the use of someone else's documents plummeted in 蜜柚直播 and the rest of the border in the past decade.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
Northbound commercial truck traffic lined up for inspection at the Mariposa Port of Entry on March 28, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
In the commercial lanes a semi truck stops between the lanes looking for the first available opening at the Mariposa Port of Entry in 2015.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
Javier Castillo inspects a north-bound Mexican tractor-trailer at the 蜜柚直播 Department of Transportation's inspection facility at the Mariposa Port of Entry on Sept. 19, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz. ADOT's International Border Inspection Qualification program, led by ADOT's Border Liaison Unit, teaches commercial truck drivers what to expect during safety inspections when they enter 蜜柚直播 ports of entry.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
A Border Patrol truck parked near the commercial port of entry in Nogales.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
An illegal alien scales the U.S.-Mexico fence back toward Sonora after a Nogales Police Department officer, right, spotted him west of the Mariposa Port of Entry, Nov. 15, 2018, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
Kory's, a store catering to wedding, quincea鈥揺ra and formal gowns, located at 15 N Morley Ave, Nogales, Ariz., sits katty corner to the Morley Gate Border Station on January 30, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
Sun shines through the U.S.-Mexico bollard fence west of the Mariposa Port of Entry, Nov. 15, 2018, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
Children from Nogales, Sonora, climb through a hole in the international border fence to trick-or-treat in Nogales, 蜜柚直播, on Halloween in 1987.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Border monument #166 is seen on the right as construction continues on the new 30-foot tall bollard fence that replaces old U.S./Mexico border fence two miles east of the Lukeville, 蜜柚直播 port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Construction continues on the new 30-foot tall bollard fence along the U.S./Mexico border two miles east of the Lukeville, 蜜柚直播 port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
A Mexican worker rides his horse along a road south of the U.S./Mexican border wall on his way back into Sonoyta Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
New paneling of border wall seen about three miles east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Old mesh paneling is removed in preparation for new wall to be built about three miles east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
A construction worker prepares cables to lift a piece of the 30-foot tall bollard fence along the U.S./Mexico border fence two miles east of the Lukeville, 蜜柚直播 port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Border Patrol Officers to the side of a worksite about three miles east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry where new border wall is being installed seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Old wall east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Raised wall east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
A work site east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Normandy fencing placed against a section of border fence west of Lukeville Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
A semi passes by Quitobaquito Springs as it drives along Highway 2 in Mexico Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
An area referred to as "flood gate" along the U.S./Mexico border near Sasabe, Ariz. is on the list of the Department of Homeland Security鈥檚 priorities for building a border wall, but no funding has been allocated yet. September 16, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Vehicle barriers mark the U.S./Mexico border within the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Sasabe, Ariz. on September 16, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
A portion of the U.S./Mexico bollard border fence ends on the right and vehicle barriers begin within the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Sasabe, Ariz. on September 16, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Integrated Fixed Tower, left, near Sasabe, Ariz. on September 16, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
The new 30-foot tall bollard fence that replaced old U.S./Mexico border fence can be seen on the left. It's located about miles east of the Lukeville, 蜜柚直播 port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
A US Border Patrol vehicle seen next to a section of new 30 foot high wall along the US/Mexico border near the commercial port of entry in San Luis Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
Old fencing is taken down along the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico, Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
A security guard stand in a construction site where a new fence will be placed on the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico, Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
Old fencing against new fencing along the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
Crews prepare ground for a new fence to be placed on the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
Vehicles in line to enter the United States from San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
New fencing along the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
A new section of fencing on the U.S. - Mexico border in California, just west of Yuma, Ariz., in 1993.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
Sand drifts through the "floating fence" that marks the border running through the dunes, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, west of San Luis, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
A sign warns of the dangers of trying to swim the All-American Canal just north of the Mexican border, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, west of San Luis, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
A long string of lights illuminate the no-man's land between the triple fencing of the Mexican border, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, San Luis, Ariz.
U.S. 鈥 Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
The border fence comes to an abrupt end at the currently dry Colorado River, Thursday, July 26, 2018, west of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora.
Contact reporter Curt Prendergast at 573-4224 or cprendergast@tucson.com or on Twitter @Curt蜜柚直播Star
Curt Prendergast
Editor
