Note: In January 2019, news outlets reported that the Trump Administration was investigating redirecting U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) civil works funds to construct physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. USACE is an agency in the Department of Defense (DOD) that performs both military and civil works activities. Section 923 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (WRDA 1986; 33 U.S.C. §2293) provides the Secretary of the Army authority to redirect civil works resources in the event of a declared war or national emergency that requires or may require use of the Armed Forces. On February 15, 2019, President Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border; Congress.gov

San Diego Secondary Wall Construction to Begin

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), began construction on the San Diego Secondary Wall Project with the first panels in place on February 18, 2019.

On December 20, 2018, CBP awarded a contract to construct up to 14 miles of secondary wall in California within the U.S. Border Patrol’s (USBP) San Diego Sector (SDC). The contract was awarded to SLSCO Ltd. using CBP’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 appropriations.

The secondary wall project includes the replacement of existing secondary barrier with a 30 ft. tall steel bollard wall.  This project is directly north to the San Diego primary fence replacement project that is currently under construction funded with FY 2017 funding. These two important barriers, in combination with a patrol road and technology, create an enforcement zone for the USBP as part of a border wall system.  Given the high-density population in the San Diego-Tijuana area, the updated border infrastructure is critically needed.   

Border barriers, along with appropriate technology, roads and personnel, have significantly reduced illegal entry in SDC, however more work remains to be done.  In FY 2018, there were approximately 38,000 apprehensions in the SDC by USBP. 

CBP continues to implement President Trump’s Executive Order 13767 – also known as Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements – and continues to take steps to expeditiously  plan, design, and construct a physical wall along the southern border, using appropriate materials and technology to most effectively achieve operational control of the southern border. 

New Border Wall Project Completed in San Diego

On August 9, 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), completed construction on approximately 14 miles of new border wall system in U.S. Border Patrol’s (USBP) San Diego Sector in California. This project, funded with CBP’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 appropriation, included the construction of 18-foot steel bollards, improved road conditions, and additional technology in place of dilapidated and outdated pedestrian barrier. 

“The construction of the new border wall system supports USBP’s ability to impede and deny illegal border crossings and the drug and human smuggling activities of transnational criminal organizations while increasing safety by allowing agents to observe activity just immediately south of the border wall,” said Acting San Diego Sector Chief Kathleen Scudder. 

As of August 9, 2019, CBP has constructed approximately 57 miles of new border wall system since 2017. By the end of 2020, CBP and DOD expect to construct a total of 450 miles or more of new border wall system if additional funds are identified, including up to 334 miles of new border wall system completed by CBP in high priority locations across the Southwest border using a combination of the Department of Homeland Security appropriations, Department of Defense 10 U.S.C. § 284 Counter-Narcotics funding and Treasury Forfeiture Funds. This includes an addition of approximately 14 miles of new secondary wall in the same location in USBP’s San Diego Sector funded by CBP’s FY 2018 appropriation, of which over six miles have been completed to date. 

Rio Grande Valley
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), has begun installing the first panels for new border wall system in U.S. Border Patrol’s (USBP) Rio Grande Valley (RGV) in Hidalgo County, Texas.

The busiest sector in the nation, RGV is USBP’s highest priority location for new border wall system construction. The RGV Sector accounts for approximately 40 percent of the illegal alien apprehensions and ranks first in seized cocaine and marijuana along the southwest border. The majority of illegal activity is occurring in areas of RGV with limited infrastructure and technology. The new border wall system will improve the RGV Sector’s ability to impede and deny illegal border crossings and the drug and human smuggling activities of transnational criminal organizations.

“Having previously worked in Tucson Sector, I’ve seen how walls are extremely effective in changing the operational environment in which we work,” said Rodolfo Karisch, Chief Patrol Agent of the Rio Grande Valley Sector.  “Locations where physical barriers have been constructed saw reduced illegal immigration flows, organized smuggling and environmental degradation. I look forward to putting this capability to work in new locations in RGV Sector.”

This project consists of approximately eight miles of new levee wall system in locations where no barriers currently exist.  The contract for this project was awarded in November 2018. This project is similar to the 76 miles of new border wall system recently constructed in the San Diego, El Centro, Yuma, and El Paso Sectors. In addition to a physical barrier, the new levee wall system also includes an enforcement zone, which will include technology to provide situational awareness, as well as an all-weather road for lateral access.

Since January 2017, approximately $9.8 billion has been identified to construct approximately 509 miles of new border wall system through a combination of Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense funding and the Treasury Forfeiture Fund. This includes approximately 110 miles of new levee and border wall system within USBP’s RGV Sector in areas where no barriers currently exist.