What was promised
Building the wall was a major talking point throughout Trumps run for president in 2016. For his 2024 run the goal was to complete it. The Republican party platform said in July 2024 "We will complete the Border Wall" and later on stated that "The remaining Wall construction can be completed quickly, effectively, and inexpensively." Trump said when accepting the Republican nomination on July 18th "I will end the illegal immigration crisis by closing our border and finishing the wall, most of which I've already built."
A Government Accountability Office report said 458 miles of wall were constructed during Trump's first term. However 371 miles of that was replacing existing walls. TIME reported that when Trump came back to office in January of 2025 there was approximately 644 miles of primary wall and 75 miles of secondary wall stretching across the almost 2,000 mile border line. This information was provided by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
What's happened since
Day one. An Executive Order was put into effect on January 20th 2025 directing the secretary of defense and homeland security to construct "temporary and permanent physical barriers" along our southern border. CBP signed its first contract during Trump's second term in March. The contract was for about $70 million to construct approximately 7 miles of wall in Hidalgo County Texas.
The money. With the One Big Beautiful Bill act being signed in July of 2025. $46.5 billion was allocated to build a two tiered wall system. Along with water barriers and detection systems through the year 2029 ending on September 30th.
A slow start. In February of 2026 Axios stated that only 30 miles of wall have been constructed since January 2025. There are another 200 miles of wall contracts that are waiting for approval from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Axios got hold of this memo. Homeland security said that they do not have any wall contracts pending with Secretary Noem.
Speeding up. Time reported that Customs and Border protection stated as of early August they had constructed 59 miles of primary wall and 42 miles of secondary wall since January of 2025. They also replaced 38 miles of primary wall. With 287 more miles of primary wall currently under construction. Customs and border protection also stated that they have constructed 22 miles of water barrier. Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection Rodney Scott has said that by the end of 2027 the primary wall will be completed. And that the secondary wall will be completed by July of 2028. A White House Official stated that about 363 miles of border will be protected using technology and the natural borders of the land. Customs and Border protection stated to AP in September that they are constructing an average of 12 miles of wall per week. Which is twice the rate Commissioner Scott mentioned earlier in the year.
Big Bend. Customs and Border Protection halted construction in Big Bend National Park in August after bulldozers were spotted. This caused many to speak out on both sides of the political spectrum. After this the Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that Secretary Markwayne Mullin who took over as secretary in March promised that there would be no wall or barrier's placed in Big Bend. AP News reported that wall was built around Big Bend in September. Judge Kathleen Cardone blocked construction on the border near Big Bend on October 2nd. Covering about 500 miles of the border. She stated that the challengers would probably prevail if she ruled that the Secretary of Homeland security does not have the power to bypass environmental laws and others. The government requested that the Supreme Court overturn this decision on October 21st saying that the Big Bend area sees a large amount of people entering illegally. I've not found any further updates as of October 29th.
The administration's count. Homeland security claims that Customs and Border Protection have built 250 miles of "new border barrier" since January of 2025 and through the end of September 2026. This includes primary wall, secondary wall, water barriers and "supporting technology". They have also stated that they have spent $34.3 billion on constructing the wall since September 2025 to September 2026. The white house claims that they have constructed around 290 miles of border wall. "Including 131 miles of primary wall."
Where it stands now
Construction began on day one. Money was given by Congress and after starting off slow customs and border protection claims to be working at double the speed. Using the White Houses claim we have about 131 miles of primary wall constructed. We don't know how much is replacing existing wall. They hope to have around 667 more miles constructed during the course of 2027. One fourth of the border is in legal disputes and about 363 miles of border will use technology and natural borders. The platform stated that the wall would be finished "quickly" and "inexpensively" which doesn't quite align with the cost of $46.5 billion and the wall being completed in 2028.
Opinion
There's no denying that this administration has been extremely effective at stemming the tide of illegal crossings. The number of border patrol encounters has dropped massively. I just wish there was a way to make this process far less damaging to the environment. Tapping new wells just to draw even more water out of an already parched landscape just feels wrong on so many levels.
"Oh, hey animals, plants and trees. So sorry. We need this water to mix our concrete."