It's the first major step toward constructing the proposed border wall

The Department of Homeland Security has announced plans to begin soliciting pitches for a prototype design of President Trump’s proposed wall along the Mexican border.

The notice, put out on the department’s website Friday, says contractors can submit proposals starting March 6. Submissions for the concept designs will then close on March 10, with selected applicants narrowed down by the 20th. The remaining vendors must then satisfy the full proposal request and offer an estimated price.

Homeland Security said it’s possible that multiple winners will be selected. It plans to announce the winning design(s) of the wall, which runs nearly 2,000 miles, in mid-April.

At a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, Trump said the wall would be built “soon.”

“We’ve defended other nations’ borders while leaving ours wide open, anybody can come in,” the President said. “We’re going to build a wall, don’t worry about it. We’re building the wall, we’re building the wall. In fact, it’s going to start soon. Way ahead of schedule, way ahead of schedule.”

The Department of Homeland Security, however, still does not know how much the wall will cost. Trump has repeatedly claimed that Mexico will foot the bill, but the Mexican government has been adamant about its refusal to do so.

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