The Trump administration plans to begin construction on new and replacement border fencing in at least three states by the end of this summer, administration officials told the Washington Examiner.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Thursday the $1.6 billion that Congress earmarked for the president’s border wall project in an omnibus spending bill earlier this month will fund 100 miles of brand new or updated barriers in California, New Mexico, and Texas. The administration had previously asked Congress for $18 billion to finance a 700-mile continuous wall along the Southwest border.
The Department of Homeland Security broke ground on new 30-foot bollard-style fencing in Calexico, Calif., a development Trump has repeatedly referenced since his visit earlier this month to the site of eight border wall prototypes near San Diego. And CBP Acting Deputy Commissioner Ronald Vitiello said Friday the agency will commence construction on 20 miles of primary barrier in Santa Teresa, N.M., in “early April.”
Though funding for the updated fencing in Calexico was secured by the White House last year, the plan itself was approved by former President Barack Obama in 2009. CBP agent David Kim, who helps oversee the El Centro border sector in Southern California, described the project as something “that was planned for quite some time” in remarks to reporters last month.
Beyond Calexico and Santa Teresa, the Trump administration has approved the construction of 28 miles of primary and secondary wall replacements in San Diego, four miles of primary wall replacements in El Paso, Texas, and 25 miles of a new levee wall system in Hidalgo Co., Texas.
A DHS official said construction along the Texas-Mexico border will begin sometime between late June and early July.
“Then further out, later this summer, is San Diego,” the official said, noting that the project in Southern California is still “bidding out.”
CBP also plans to build 35 new gates along a 55-mile stretch of existing border wall in the Rio Grande Valley, Vitiello said Friday. An administration official told the Washington Examiner construction on the gates is “tentatively slated to start in October.”
The jam-packed construction schedule comes as the White House prepares for a fall midterm elections where some of the most vulnerable Republican candidates are located in border states. Six congressional districts in California and Arizona are currently ranked as competitive, according to the Cook Political Report, a top nonpartisan election tracker.
Two of those districts — California’s 39th and 49th — are occupied by GOP lawmakers who do not plan to seek re-election, and have been listed as “lean Democratic” by Cook, along with Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District seat, which was left open when Republican Rep. Martha McSally announced her bid for Senate. Another two are considered “toss-ups.”
The issue of illegal immigration has plagued both states in recent elections and is likely to be a featured target for Democrat and Republican candidates in the lead-up to November. One House GOP aide said border wall construction would give Republicans cover to say they’re tackling immigration. However, the aide cautioned that delays could easily occur before the midterm election.
A Harvard-Harris poll released in late February found that 62 percent of voters are dissatisfied with current border security infrastructure, including 64 percent of independents. Another 57 percent said they would support “building a combination of physical and electronic barriers across the U.S.-Mexico border.”
Trump touted his promised border wall during remarks in Ohio earlier his week, describing the construction in Calexico as “a thing of beauty.” The president told supporters he was never prepared to “give up” on securing the money for an updated barrier, even if there is still more work to be done.
“We’re getting that sucker built!” he exclaimed.
The White House did not return a request for comment.
