A group that raised private money to build a section of President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall was ordered to keep its gate open after failing to obtain proper permits, CNN reports.
Brian Kolfage attempted to raise $1 billion on GoFundMe to build a section of the wall and when that inevitably failed, he formed the group We Build the Wall to use private money to build a section of the wall.
The group finally unveiled their first section this week -- only to be ordered to keep the gate open indefinitely.
The International Boundary and Water Commission said the wall blocked a government-owned levee road and that the group failed to get a permit to build on federal land.
"It's not the border wall that we have a problem with," spokeswoman Lori Kuczmanski said. "The problem is the gate is on federal property. You just can't come in and build a gate on somebody's property without asking -- especially not giving them the keys and walking away from it. It's not right."
The commission padlocked the gates open on Monday.
"After repeated requests to unlock and open the private gate, the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), accompanied by two uniformed law enforcement officers from the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office, removed the private lock, opened the gate, and locked the gate open pending further discussions with We Build the Wall," the commission said in a statement.
Kolfage accuses IBWC of “overstepping” authority:
Kolfage raged at the commission on Twitter after they issued the order to keep the gate open.
“The IBWC is a fine example of over reach and growing to big. They are over stepping DHS, national security experts and undermining @realDonaldTrump as soon as they locked our gate open we noticed many other gates around el Paso just opened up!! They are planning for mass invasion,” he wrote.
But Kuczmanski told BuzzFeed News the group behind the wall failed to go through the proper channels before building the wall section.
"This is normally done well in advance of a construction project," she told the outlet. "They think they can build now and ask questions later, and that's not how it works."
"Their permit is still in the works," she added. "We're asking for documentation."
