Dems slam DHS plan to have troops boost border wall's 'aesthetic appearance,' reports say

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President Trump says progress is being made with Mexico over border crisis

U.S. and Mexico discuss solutions to the border crisis.

U.S. military personnel will spend the next month painting the border wall, reports said Wednesday. But at least two Democrats spoke out against the plan.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., tweeted that the Department of Homeland Security informed Congress that troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border will be working to improve the wall's “aesthetic appearance.”

But Durbin also slammed the move as a “disgraceful” use of taxpayer money.

BORDER ARRESTS SKYROCKET IN MAY, AS OFFICIALS DECLARE 'FULL-BLOWN EMERGENCY'

“Our military has more important work to do than making Trump’s wall beautiful,” he wrote.

An unspecified number of service members were assigned to paint the barriers in the town of Calexico, Calif., located directly north of the border with Mexico, according to an email sent out to members of Congress by DHS. A copy of the email text was provided to CBS News by a congressional aide.

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, called the painting assignment a “gross misuse” of the military.

"These are soldiers, they are not painters," Castro, the twin brother of presidential candidate Julian Castro, told CBS News.

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The number of migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border skyrocketed last month to levels not seen in more than a decade, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection reporting nearly 133,000 arrests in May.

"We are in full-blown emergency," a CBP official told Fox News on Wednesday. The number of apprehensions was the highest monthly total in more than 13 years. In April, authorities recorded 99,304 arrests.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.