by Ben Whedon
The Department of Homeland Security on Friday announced plans to build nearly 1,500 miles of border wall in order to make good on President Donald Trump’s signature campaign promise.
The wall will begin at the Pacific Ocean near San Diego and run to Texas, as far as Brownsville, the Washington Times reported. The agency has already issued initial contracts to begin construction. In total, the barrier would include 1,422 miles of so-called Smart Wall.
Trump famously campaigned in 2016 on building a southern border wall, though he was unable to secure enough funding to complete the project in his first term. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act largely appropriated the remaining funds needed.
“For years, Washington talked about border security but failed to deliver. This president changed that,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said. “The Smart Wall means more miles of barriers, more technology and more capability for our agents on the ground. This is how you take control of the border.”
Under the current administration, CBP has released zero illegal aliens into the U.S. interior in multiple months.
Before Trump took office, in December 2024, America apprehended 48,141 illegal immigrants. In January, since Trump didn’t get sworn in till January 19, America apprehended 30,126 illegal immigrants. From February to August, America has apprehended only 60,076 illegal immigrants. Based on the average monthly apprehensions of those six months, 8,582, it would take another two months to reach the number of illegal immigration apprehensions America experienced in December 2024 and January.
At the height of the border crisis during the Biden administration, Border Patrol apprehended 190,454 illegal immigrants in October 2023 and 192,357 in November 2024.
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
