Former Deputy Who Abducted Daughters Wants To Build Trump's Wall

Fifteen Chicago-area companies are among the more than 700 contractors who've expressed interest in working on President Donald Trump's proposed U.S/Mexico border wall — including one firm run by a former sheriff's deputy who was convicted of abducting his own daughters and admits to illegally residing in a foreign country.

Michael Hari, 46, told the Chicago Tribune the wall — Trump's signature campaign promise — would not just be a physical barrier between the countries but also a "symbol of the American determination to defend our culture, our language, our heritage, from any outsiders." Hari recently launched his own global security firm, Crisis Resolution Security Services in Clarence, Illinois, a remote town of less than 100 people in Ford County.

Hari's proposed $10 billion wall would be 100 miles from Mexico and leave large areas of U.S. land — including the town of Marfa, Texas — south of the wall, according to the Tribune. He said the rough terrain would serve as a natural deterrent and border patrol agents would be able to intercept those attempting to illegally enter the U.S. there.

Hari, a former Ford County sheriff's deputy, spent time in Mexico and Belize after fleeing with his daughters during a custody fight with his ex-wife in 2005.

His story was featured on several episodes of "Dr. Phil," and it was Dr. Phil McGraw and an investigator for McGraw's show who reportedly persuaded him to return to the United States. Hari is now a convicted felon and was an illegal immigrant to Belize, where he took his daughters, ages 15 and 13, to a Mennonite colony. In 2006, he was convicted of abducting the girls, who were missing for 10 months, according to the News-Gazette.

Read transcripts of Hari's "Dr. Phil" appearances:

• Part 1
• Part 2

The Mexico border wall was part of the president's 2018 budget blueprint, and the deadline for bidding was recently extended through Tuesday. The government released its requirements for bidders in March, saying the wall should be "physically imposing in height," and roughly 30 feet tall, although "designs with heights of at least 18 feet may be acceptable." Government documents specified that the wall must be impossible to climb without a ladder and impervious to climbing aids like grappling hooks.

While the cost of the wall isn't in the government's request for proposal, estimates have ranged from $10 billion to $25 billion, according to CNN.

Trump has said Mexico will pay for the wall, but Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has vehemently disagreed.

Also among the Illinois bidders looking to work on the wall are Pilsen-based Scale Construction, hired by the City of Chicago in 2010 to revamp bathrooms at O'Hare airport; and Northwest General Contractors, a Glen Ellyn firm behind new employee parking lots at Midway airport in 2010, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump signs Executive Orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 3, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Aude Guerrucci - Pool/Getty Images)