Trump fast-tracking US-Mexico border wall in four states
Will his commitment to securing the border help him win in 2020? Former Tuscon police officer Brandon Tatum weighs in.
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The construction of the wall at the southern border has been continuing despite the shutdown of much of daily life due to the coronavirus -- with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announcing this week that more than 150 miles of new wall have been built.
According to CBP statistics, 156 miles of new primary and secondary border wall system have been constructed since January 2017. Of that, 140 miles of primary and 11 miles of secondary wall replaces old or dilapidated wall. It means that there are a total of 656 miles of primary barriers and 42 miles of secondary barriers at the border when including those built before President Trump took office.
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A CBP official told Fox News last month that wall construction schedules have so far not been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Two miles of primary wall and five miles of secondary wall are being installed at sites where there was no previous wall built. This stat is likely to continue to disappoint immigration hawks, who argue that almost the entirety of the border wall is replacing old structure, rather than plugging gaps in the border.
Officials have noted that getting permission to build on private land is a lengthy process, but one that is starting to bear fruit, meaning that construction of more wall in places where no structure existed would start to accelerate.
Additionally, the administration has pushed back on phrases such as “replacement wall” when it comes to describing the wall structure that is being built over old or dilapidated structures -- arguing that new structures are so radically different to count as “new wall.”
BORDER WALL PROGRESS: WHAT'S BEEN BUILT SO FAR?
Compared with the landing mat barriers in place, that could be easily driven or climbed over, the new 30-foot structures -- complete with cameras, anti-climb technology, access roads, lights and other tech -- are considerable upgrades.
“I use this analogy: when someone builds a new modern smart five-bedroom house in place of a dilapidated run-down shack, you do not call that a replacement house, you call that a new house,” Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf said in January.
Much of the fight for the administration has centered on the question of funding -- but a series of efforts both in Congress and in the courts to allow the rechanneling of money from the Pentagon have paid off. CBP says that since 2017 it has identified a total of $15 billion to construct a total of 753 miles of border wall system, through a combination of Pentagon and Homeland Security funding, and the Treasury Forfeiture Fund.
IN SAN DIEGO, OFFICIALS SAY NEW WALL IS HELPING BRING BORDER NUMBERS DOWN
CBP says that for fiscal 2020, an additional $1.3 billion has been awarded for 69 miles of new wall in the Laredo sector, also in areas where no previous barriers existed.
There is another $6.3 billion earmarked from Pentagon counter-narcotics funding for approximately 306 miles, and an additional $3.6 billion from military construction funding for an additional 175 miles of construction.
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The administration has set the goal of 450 miles of wall constructed or under construction by the end of the year, as President Trump seeks to go into re-election being able to show that the wall he promised in 2016 is being built.
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