Washington (CNN) The Interior Department announced Wednesday that it will soon transfer 560 acres along the US-Mexico border to the Army to allow for border wall construction.

The five parcels comprise land in Arizona, California and New Mexico, the department said, and will be used to construct 70 miles of border barrier.

"In addition to the national security, humanitarian, and related values impacted by unlawful border crossing, emergency measures are necessary to preserve natural resource values," Casey Hammond, an acting assistant interior secretary, said on a conference call with reporters.

The department's announcement of the land transfer comes the same day President Donald Trump toured a section of border wall in California as part of a fundraising trip. The visit and Trump's praise for the wall signal that border security will be a cornerstone of his reelection bid, as it was in 2016.

Hammond said the transfer is in the Interior Department's interest because people illegally crossing the border in the area "create new roads, damage native vegetation, disturb wildlife, and generate tons of garbage and human waste."

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