A cacophony of protesters could be heard as the U.S. Border Patrol announced Friday at a news conference in El Paso's oldest neighborhood that construction of a new border wall would begin Saturday.

Officials, who have used the words wall and fence interchangeably as part of President Donald Trump's border security push, said the 4-mile section of existing chain-link fence would be replaced with a stronger metal barrier beginning just west of the Paso Del Norte international crossing in Downtown El Paso and extending east to the Fonseca Road area.

The existing fence will be removed, and an 18-foot-high steel bollard wall will be constructed in its place. The construction project is expected to be completed in late April. The estimated cost for the project is $22 million.

West Point Contractors of Tucson, Ariz., will carry out the project.

More:Chihuahuita: A border community rooted in history

"Last week, we began preliminary work on a new 4-mile section of bollard wall to replace the dilapidated chain-link fence. This new wall will be far more durable and far more effective in deterring illegal entries,” El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Aaron A. Hull said.

The start of the wall is in the area known as Chihuahuita, El Paso's oldest neighborhood. About 100 people live in the area, and the southern boundary of the neighborhood is the border fence separating El Paso from Juárez.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the area was known for high rates of theft by criminal gangs that operated on both sides of the border, Hull said.

In 1993, the Border Patrol implemented Operation Hold the Line, which increased the presence of agents and improved infrastructure already in place, he said.

Hull said the measure was criticized by some, but within one year of its implementation, crime statistics across the city of El Paso were reduced 50 percent across the board.

He said petty theft, residential burglary and auto burglary were reduced 85 percent and illegal entry was reduced 74 percent in Downtown El Paso.

“Now, in 2018, the chain-link infrastructure that has been in place has begun to deteriorate. It is easily breached by smugglers and expensive for us to constantly repair,” he said.

At the same time, the Border Patrol has seen a significant increase in the number of illegal entries in this area, he said.

Hull said illegal entries in the Southwest border increased 52 percent when comparing the numbers from August 2017 to August of this year.

In the El Paso Sector, the apprehension of undocumented immigrants has increased 61 percent in certain areas when comparing the numbers in fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2018, Hull said. However, the Border Patrol does not release apprehension numbers by specific areas.

According the U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics, there were about 27,179 apprehensions reported in the El Paso Sector this fiscal year as of August — that’s an 8 percent increase from the 25,193 apprehensions in 2017.

While the numbers fluctuate from year to year, apprehensions in the Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector, which includes El Paso County and New Mexico, decreased nearly 67 percent from 2007 to 2017.

Hull said illegal entry to the U.S. has been encouraged by loopholes in immigration laws and in the immigration court system.

"Among those encouraged by these loopholes are individuals and families claiming asylum with the knowledge that they will be scheduled for future court hearings," he said.

"They are routinely released from custody and told to return before these court hearings. Most of them never do so. This situation is known and understood by the smugglers and the people paying them to enter this country illegally in order to circumvent the laws."

The design of the steel bollard wall in Chihuahuita will the same as the one built earlier this year along the U.S.-Mexico border in Santa Teresa, N.M. The steel bollard design allows visibility between the countries. The ability to see through the wall lets Border Patrol agents monitor activity in Mexico, helping them detect illegal entries and drugs at the border, the agency said in a news release.

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The wall in Santa Teresa, which stands 18 feet to 30 feet tall in different areas depending on the terrain, cost about $73 million.

Hull said the wall project in Santa Teresa is expected to be completed in March.

“As of this week, all of the wall panels have been put in place in that 20-mile section of wall. We are now completing some other elements out there, such as adding concrete, a couple of gates, improving the roads,” Hull said.

"We have already seen positive enforcement impact from this effort — an effort that will be completed months ahead of schedule," he added.

About 50 protesters rallied against the construction of the border wall at the corner of Calleros Court and Chihuahua Street as Hull conducted the news conference.

Demonstrators shouted, “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” as they held signs reading, “Love has no borders” and “In times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build walls.”

Camilo Perez-Bustillo, director of advocacy, research and leadership development at the Hope Border Institute, said demonstrators were there to support the Chihuahuita neighborhood, El Paso and other border communities that oppose border militarization and construction of the wall.

“We are here to say that the wall has no place in our community, has no place in our country — that the wall not only should not be reinforced or extended, but should be taken down,” Perez-Bustillo said. “We consider the wall to be a symbol of hate and division, and we stand for love and for community.

“We want to defend this community against these kinds of insults and invasions of our lives and our peace,” he added.

Jose Castañon, 90, a resident of Chihuahuita, said he found out about the construction of the border wall right behind his apartment on Thursday, but he was not surprised.

"He does whatever he wants," Castañon said, referring to President Donald Trump.

Plans for the wall in Chihuahuita were first revealed Thursday, although few details were known before the news conference Friday. And some El Paso leaders were critical of the new project.

State Sen. José Rodríguez, D-El Paso, said in an emailed statement Thursday: "The border fence has always been an expensive waste of taxpayer money that does not enhance national security. The current administration's plans to replace an already existing fence is ridiculous. We need smarter approaches to the border, with enforcement that targets true criminal threats while respecting its people and places. El Paso and other border communities are opportunities, not threats."

Veronica Escobar, a former county judge and the Democratic nominee for El Paso's U.S. House seat, said the federal government has largely ignored the concerns of the community.

“This is really disturbing,” Escobar said Thursday. “The federal government does absolutely no outreach. They don’t inform the community and they don’t communicate with anyone. They’re just coming in and they’re going to erect this wall without any sort of engagement with anybody.”

One Chihuahuita resident also said she was bothered by the lack of outreach, but she was looking forward to any additional protection provided by the project.

"Nobody came to talk to us," Mannys Silva Rodriguez said Thursday. "We found out through the media, through certain contacts. Nobody mentioned it."

The lifelong resident of Chihuahuita said she has concerns about building the wall, but she is also concerned about a large hole cut in the border fence behind her property.

"I guess people don't want it," Silva Rodriguez said of the wall. "But the ones who live close to it, we don't mind it. They've (border crossers) been cutting the fence and they leave it open like that, and it's something dangerous for our kids."

Aileen B. Flores may be reached at 546-6362; aflores@elpasotimes.com; @aileenbflores on Twitter.

Staff writers Aaron Martinez, Sara Sanchez and Madlin Mekelburg contributed to this report.