Mexico–United States border wall

{{Short description|Series of border barriers}} {{Use American English|date=March 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2025}} {{infobox border |territory1=Mexico<br/> |territory2=United States |image = US-Mexico barrier map.png |image_size = 300px |caption = Map of the Mexico–United States border wall in 2017 |length= Border Length: 1,954 Miles<br /> Planned Primary Wall: 1,419 Miles<br /> Planned Waterborne Barrier System: 536 Miles<br /> Planned Secondary Wall: 708 Miles<br /> Planned Detection Technology (Only): ~535 Miles<br> |established={{Start date and age|1990}} |notes=https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/along-us-borders/smart-wall-map<br /> https://www.spd.usace.army.mil/Border-Task-Force/}} [[File:US-Mexico border fence.jpg|thumb|Border fence near El Paso, Texas, in the mid 2000s]] [[File: Border USA Mexico.jpg|thumb|Border fence between San Diego's border patrol offices in California, U.S. (left) and Tijuana, Mexico (right)]] A border wall has been built along portions of the Mexico–United States border in an attempt to reduce illegal immigration to the United States from Mexico.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Garcia|first1=Michael John|title=Barriers Along the U.S. Borders: Key Authorities and Requirements|date=November 18, 2016|publisher=Congressional Research Service|location=Washington, DC|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43975.pdf|access-date=December 9, 2016|archive-date=November 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126075615/https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43975.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The barrier is not a continuous structure but a series of obstructions variously classified as "fences" or "walls".<ref name=":3">Chaichian, Mohammad. 2014. ''Empires and Walls: Globalization, Migration, and Colonial Domination'' (Brill, pp. 175–235)</ref>

Between the physical barriers, security is provided by a "virtual fence" of sensors, cameras, and other surveillance equipment used to dispatch United States Border Patrol agents to suspected migrant crossings.<ref name="pbsnow">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/now/shows/432/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021160420/http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/432/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 21, 2008|title=The Border Fence|publisher=NOW on PBS}}</ref> In May 2011, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it had {{convert|649|mi|km|sp=us}} of barriers in place.<ref name=Farley20110516/> A total of {{convert|438|mi|km|sp=us}}<ref name=":3" /> of new primary barriers were built during Donald Trump's first presidency, dubbed the "'''Trump wall'''", though President Trump had repeatedly promised a "giant wall" spanning the entire border and that Mexico would "pay for the wall," neither of which were done.<ref name=Farley20210216>{{Cite web|last=Farley|first=Robert|date=February 16, 2021 |title=Trump's Border Wall: Where Does It Stand?|url=https://www.factcheck.org/2020/12/trumps-border-wall-where-does-it-stand/|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=FactCheck.org|language=en-US|archive-date=December 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222154208/https://www.factcheck.org/2020/12/trumps-border-wall-where-does-it-stand/|url-status=live}}</ref> The national border's length is {{convert|1954|mi|km|sp=us}}, of which {{convert|1255|mi|km|sp=us}} is the Rio Grande<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibwc.gov/crp/riogrande.htm#:~:text=The%20Rio%20Grande%20is%20the,the%20United%20States%20and%20Mexico.|website=International Boundary and Water Commission|title=About the Rio Grande}}</ref> and {{convert|699|mi|km}} is on land.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order<ref name=":8" /> on his first day of office, January 20, 2021, which ordered a pause in all construction of the border wall no later than January 27, 2021.<ref name=":9" /> By December 2021, many contracts had been cancelled.<ref name=":10" /> On July 28, 2022, the Biden administration announced it would fill four wide border wall gaps in Arizona near Yuma, an area with some of the busiest corridors for illegal crossings.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Biden administration to fill border wall gaps near Yuma, Arizona |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/biden-administration-fill-border-wall-gaps-yuma-arizona-rcna40567 |access-date=July 30, 2022 |website=NBC News |date=July 29, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> In October 2023, President Biden announced that he was restarting border wall construction on some parts of the border due to the surge of migrant crossings, constructing an additional {{Convert|20|mi|km}} of border wall.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gillman|first=Todd J.|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2023/10/05/biden-expedites-20-miles-of-new-border-wall-in-south-texas-but-doesnt-think-it-will-work/|title=Biden expedites {{convert|20| miles}} of new border wall in South Texas but doesn't think it will work|website=Dallas Morning News|date=October 5, 2023|access-date=October 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006003000/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2023/10/05/biden-expedites-20-miles-of-new-border-wall-in-south-texas-but-doesnt-think-it-will-work/|archive-date=October 6, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2025, re-elected president Donald Trump pledged to finish the border wall during his second term.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bustillo |first=Ximena |date=January 20, 2025 |title=Trump signs sweeping actions on immigration and border security on Day 1 |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/g-s1-43650/trump-inauguration-day-one-immigration |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rosenbaum |first1=Steven |last2=Candido |first2=Sergio |date=January 20, 2025 |title=President Trump pledges to expand border wall, praises Texas Gov. Greg Abbott |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/donald-trump-border-wall-expansion-texas-greg-abbott-inauguration/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=CBS News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hesson |first=Ted |date=November 12, 2024 |title=Trump's Day One: Deportations, border wall, scrapping Biden humanitarian programs |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-day-one-deportations-border-wall-scrapping-biden-humanitarian-programs-2024-11-12/ |access-date=January 21, 2025 |website=Reuters |language=en |archive-date=January 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124024512/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-day-one-deportations-border-wall-scrapping-biden-humanitarian-programs-2024-11-12/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In a May 2026 interview, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin stated that he expected the primary wall to be completed by April or June 2027, and the secondary wall to be completed before Trump left office.<ref name=":14" />

== Description == The {{convert|1954|mi|km|adj=on|abbr=off|sp=us}} border between Mexico and the U.S. traverses a variety of terrain, including urban areas and deserts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2017/09/19/wall-how-long-us-mexico-border/676001001/|title=The Wall: How long is the U.S.–Mexico border?|website=USA Today|access-date=January 13, 2019}}</ref> The border from the Gulf of Mexico to El Paso, Texas, follows the Rio Grande, a natural barrier. The barrier is on both urban and uninhabited sections of the border, where the most illegal crossings and drug trafficking have been observed in the past. These urban areas include San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas.<ref name=":1">Sapp, Lesley (July 2011). [https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois-apprehensions-fs-2005-2010.pdf ''Apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol: 2005–2010'']. Office of Immigration Studies, United States Department of Homeland Security (Washington, D.C.) Retrieved November 18, 2011,</ref> The fencing includes a steel fence varying in height between {{convert|18|and|27|ft|sp=us}} that divides the border towns of Nogales, Arizona, in the U.S. and Nogales, Sonora, in Mexico.<ref name="Holley">Peter Holley, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/04/02/shocking-video-shows-suspected-drug-smugglers-easily-crossing-u-s-mexico-border/ "Trump proposes a border wall. But there already is one, and it gets climbed over"], ''Washington Post'' (April 2, 2016).</ref>

97% of border apprehensions (foreign nationals caught in the U.S. illegally) by the Border Patrol in 2010 occurred at the southwest border. The number declined 61% from 1,189,000 in 2005 to 723,842 in 2008 to 463,000 in 2010. The decrease in apprehensions is the result of numerous factors, including changes in U.S. economic conditions and border enforcement efforts. Border apprehensions in 2010 were at their lowest level since 1972.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://homelandprepnews.com/featured/21870-u-s-homeland-security-secretary-elbow-room-building-border-wall/|title=U.S. Homeland Security secretary has 'elbow room' on building border wall|date=April 5, 2017|work=Homeland Preparedness News|access-date=April 21, 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=June 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608211613/https://homelandprepnews.com/featured/21870-u-s-homeland-security-secretary-elbow-room-building-border-wall/|url-status=live}}</ref> Total apprehensions for 2017, 2018, and 2019 were 415,517, 521,090, and 977,509, respectively.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration/|title=Southwest Border Migration FY 2020|date=February 11, 2020|work=Department of Homeland Security|access-date=February 15, 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=January 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106191341/https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration|url-status=live}}</ref> And while the barrier is along the border with Mexico, 80% of those apprehended are not Mexican.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/11/01/whats-happening-at-the-u-s-mexico-border-in-5-charts/|title=What's happening at the U.S.–Mexico border in 5 charts|website=Pew Research Center|language=en-US|access-date=April 8, 2020}}</ref>

As a result of the barrier, the number of people trying to cross in areas that have no fence, such as the Sonoran Desert and the Baboquivari Mountains in Arizona, has increased.<ref name=NYT20040523>{{cite news |last=Egan |first=Timothy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/us/border-desert-proves-deadly-for-mexicans.html|title=Border Desert Proves Deadly For Mexicans|date=May 23, 2004|work=The New York Times|archive-date=June 5, 2015|access-date=February 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605194721/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/us/border-desert-proves-deadly-for-mexicans.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Such immigrants must cross 50 miles (80&nbsp;km) of inhospitable terrain to reach the first road, which is in the Tohono Oʼodham Indian Reservation.<ref name=NYT20040523/><ref>[http://www.hcn.org/issues/340/16834 One Nation, Under Fire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203192354/https://www.hcn.org/issues/340/16834 |date=December 6, 2020 }} ''High Country News'', February 19, 2007.</ref>

== Geography == The Mexico–U.S. border stretches from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. Border states include the Mexican states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas and the U.S. states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/us-states-that-border-mexico.html|title=US States That Border Mexico|date=August 13, 2019|access-date=March 11, 2020|archive-date=April 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417031724/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/us-states-that-border-mexico.html|url-status=live}}</ref> {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ |- ! U.S. state !! Border length !! Mexican states |- | |California|| {{convert|140.4|mi}} || Baja California |- | |Arizona|| {{convert|372.5|mi}} || Baja California, Sonora |- | |New Mexico|| {{convert|179.5|mi}} || Sonora, Chihuahua |- | |Texas|| {{convert|1241.0|mi}} || Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas |- | |Total|| {{convert|1933.4|mi}} || – |}

== History == [[File:US Navy 090317-N-5253T-016 Two men scale the border fence into Mexico a few hundred yards away from where Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCB) 133 and NMCB-14 are building a 1,500 foot-long concrete-lined dr.jpg|thumb|upright|Two men scale the border fence into Mexico near Douglas, Arizona, in 2009|alt=Two men scale the border fence into Mexico near Douglas, Arizona, in 2009]]

===Origins=== Territorial exchanges in the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Gadsden Purchase (1853) largely established the current U.S.–Mexico border. Until the early 20th century, the border was open and largely unpatrolled, with only a few "mounted guards" patrolling its length.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://walls.overlandexhibits.com/us-mexico/ | title=US/Mexico Border Wall |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218165505/https://walls.overlandexhibits.com/us-mexico/ |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |publisher=Flint Hills Design, LLC}}</ref><ref name="klein2018">{{cite web|last=Klein|first=Christopher|url=https://www.history.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-mexico-united-states-border|title=Everything You Need to Know About the Mexico–United States Border|website=History.com|date=April 17, 2018|access-date=May 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512141411/https://www.history.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-mexico-united-states-border|archive-date=May 12, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> But tensions between the U.S. and Mexico began to rise with the Mexican Revolution (1910) and World War I, which also increased concerns about weapons smuggling, refugees and cross-border espionage. The first international bridge was the Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge, built in 1910. The first barrier built by the U.S. (a barbed-wire fence to prevent the movement of cattle across the border) was built in Ambos Nogales between 1909 and 1911,<ref name="klein2018" /> and was expanded in 1929 with a "six foot–high chain-link fence".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McGuire |first1=Randall C. |date=2013 |title=Steel Walls and Picket Fences: Rematerializing the U.S.–Mexican Border in Ambos Nogales |url=https://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~rmcguire/Steel%20Walls%20%26%20Picket%20Fences.pdf |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=115 |issue=3 |page=469 |doi=10.1111/aman.12029 |access-date=May 22, 2023 |archive-date=May 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522163316/https://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~rmcguire/Steel%20Walls%20%26%20Picket%20Fences.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The first barrier built by Mexico was likely a {{convert|6|ft|m|adj=on}}-tall wire fence built in 1918 explicitly for the purpose of directing the flow of people, also in Ambos Nogales. Barriers were extended in the following decades and became a common feature in border towns by the 1920s. In the 1940s, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service built chain-link barriers along the border.<ref>{{cite web |last1=John |first1=Rachel St |title=The Raging Controversy at the Border Began With This Incident 100 Years Ago |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/raging-controversy-border-began-100-years-ago-180969343/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |date=July 2018 |language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404083323/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/raging-controversy-border-began-100-years-ago-180969343/ |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=May 22, 2023}}</ref>

The U.S. Congress approved a $4.3&nbsp;million request by Immigration and Naturalization Service, in 1978, to build a fence along the border to replace an existing {{convert|27|mile|km|adj=on}} fence near San Ysidro, California, and El Paso, Texas, and then build an additional {{convert|6|mile|km|sp=us}} of new fence.<ref name="grandin2019">{{cite web|last=Grandin|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Grandin|url=https://theintercept.com/2019/02/10/us-mexico-border-fence-history/|title=How the U.S. Weaponized the Border Wall|website=The Intercept|date=February 10, 2019|access-date=May 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324172207/https://theintercept.com/2019/02/10/us-mexico-border-fence-history/|archive-date=March 24, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="tow2016" /> Anchor Post Products was contracted to build the new fence in a project inherited from Richard Nixon,<ref>{{cite web|last=Brown|first=Aaron|url=https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/170423|title=The Militarization of the US–Mexico Border is Not a New Idea|website=History News Network|date=November 11, 2018|access-date=May 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510145359/https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/170423|archive-date=May 10, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> who was the first president to propose building a border fence. The proposed construction received press coverage after the company's George Norris, described the fence as a "razor-sharp wall", leading to negative responses in Mexico.<ref name="grandin2019" /> The proposed wall, dubbed the "Tortilla Curtain" by critics,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Martinez |first1=Oscar J. |date=2008 |title=Border Conflict, Border Fences, and the "Tortilla Curtain" Incident of 1978–1979 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40170391 |journal=Journal of the Southwest |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=263–278 |doi= 10.1353/jsw.2008.0012|jstor=40170391 |access-date=May 22, 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last=Hill |first=Kathryn J. |date=2018 |title=Built to Order: Violence, Border Enforcement, and the Construction of the Tortilla Curtain, 1978–1979 |url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt3dm3327g/qt3dm3327g_noSplash_8abbc32ce46c9a63c911b71ed0fb811a.pdf |type=Masters |chapter= |publisher=University of California |docket= |oclc= |access-date=May 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522160058/https://escholarship.org/content/qt3dm3327g/qt3dm3327g_noSplash_8abbc32ce46c9a63c911b71ed0fb811a.pdf |archive-date=May 22, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/HAIC/Historical-Essays/Strength-Numbers/Legislative-Interests/|title=Hispanic Americans' Legislative Interests|website=Office of the Historian|publisher=U.S. House of Representatives|access-date=May 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221190745/https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/HAIC/Historical-Essays/Strength-Numbers/Legislative-Interests/|archive-date=February 21, 2023|url-status=live|quote= “Building a ‘tortilla curtain’ certainly is not the answer,” argued Manuel Luján, Jr., of New Mexico in 1980, then the sole Republican in the Hispanic Caucus.}}</ref> was condemned by Mexican politicians such as then-president José López Portillo, and it was raised as an issue during President Jimmy Carter's state visit to Mexico in February 1979.<ref name="grandin2019" /> Fencing was ultimately constructed, but had a limited length and did not have razor wire.<ref name="tow2016">{{cite web|last=Townley|first=Amy|url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/tortilla-curtain-incident|title=Tortilla Curtain Incident|website=Texas State Historical Association|date=July 6, 2016|access-date=May 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201182747/https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/tortilla-curtain-incident|archive-date=December 1, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

U.S. president George H. W. Bush approved the initial 14 miles (22.5 km) of fencing along the San Diego–Tijuana border.<ref name="cnn2019">{{Cite web|last1=Scoichet|first1=Catherine E.|last2=Sands|first2=Geneva|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/19/politics/us-mexico-border-wall-numbers/index.html|title=This is how much of the border wall has been built so far|date=January 19, 2019|website=CNN|language=en|access-date=May 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404040108/https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/19/politics/us-mexico-border-wall-numbers/index.html|archive-date=April 4, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1993, President Bill Clinton oversaw initial border fence construction which was completed by the end of the year. Starting in 1994, further barriers were built under Clinton's presidency as part of three larger operations to taper transportation of illegal drugs manufactured in Latin America and immigration: Operation Gatekeeper in California, Operation Hold-the-Line<ref>McPhail, Weldon, Assistant Director, Administration of Justice Issues, Dennise R. Stickley, Evaluator, David P. Alexander, Social Science Analyst: Washington, DC, Appendix I:1; Michael P. Dino, Evaluator-in-Charge, James R. Russell, Evaluator: LA Regional Office, Appendix I:2; [http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/govpubs/gao/gao13.htm "Border Control: Revised Strategy Is Showing Some Positive Results"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209034919/http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/GovPubs/gao/gao13.htm |date=February 9, 2020 }}. Subcommittee on Information, Justice, Transportation and Agriculture, Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, December 29, 1994.</ref> in Texas, and Operation Safeguard<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/gatekeeper.htm|title=Operation Gatekeeper: Operation Hold-the-Line: Operation Safeguard|first=John|last=Pike|website=Globalsecurity.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404040107/https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/gatekeeper.htm|archive-date=April 4, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> in Arizona. Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which authorized further barriers and the reinforcement of the initial border fence. The majority of the border barriers built in the 1990s were made out of leftover helicopter landing mats from the Vietnam War.<ref name="cnn2019" />

=== Bush administration (2001–2009)===

The Real ID Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush on May 11, 2005, attached a rider to a supplemental appropriations bill funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which went into effect in May 2008:<blockquote>Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive all legal requirements such Secretary, in such Secretary's sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads.</blockquote>

In 2005, there were {{convert|75|mile|km|sp=us}} of fencing along the border.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gamboa|first=Suzanne|date=September 15, 2006|title=House Approves U.S.–Mexican Border Fence|newspaper=The Washington Post|language=en-US|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/14/AR2006091401153.html|access-date=August 7, 2019|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=August 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807080700/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/14/AR2006091401153.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2005, the border-located Laredo Community College obtained a {{convert|10|ft|m|adj=on}} fence built by the United States Marine Corps. The structure led to a reported decline in border crossings onto the campus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/local_news/laredo-border-fence-offers-possible-comparisons/article_820592c0-6392-5924-84f6-09abfcba8a70.html|title=Laredo border fence offers possible comparisons|website=Valley Morning Star|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228231130/https://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/local_news/laredo-border-fence-offers-possible-comparisons/article_820592c0-6392-5924-84f6-09abfcba8a70.html|archive-date=February 28, 2019|access-date=July 29, 2019}}</ref> U.S. representative Duncan Hunter of California proposed a plan on November 3, 2005, calling for the construction of a reinforced fence along the entire United States–Mexico border. This would also have included a {{convert|100|yd|m|adj=on}} border zone on the U.S. side. On December 15, 2005, Congressman Hunter's amendment to the Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437) passed in the House, but the bill did not pass the Senate. This plan called for mandatory fencing along {{convert|698|mile|km|adj=off}} of the {{convert|1954|mile|km|adj=on}}-long border.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.house.gov/hunter/news_prior_2006/fence.amendment.html| title=Hunter proposal for strategic border fencing passes House| year=2005| access-date=October 10, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061006133313/http://www.house.gov/hunter/news_prior_2006/fence.amendment.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = October 6, 2006}}</ref> On May 17, 2006, the U.S. Senate proposed the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611), which would include {{convert|370|mi|km|sp=us}} of triple-layered fencing and a vehicle fence, but the bill died in committee.<ref>{{cite web | title=109th Congress Public Law 367 | url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-109publ367/html/PLAW-109publ367.htm | website=gpo.gov | access-date=January 15, 2017 | archive-date=January 29, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129204001/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-109publ367/html/PLAW-109publ367.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>

====Secure Fence Act of 2006==== [[File:Algodones sand-dune-fence.jpg|thumb|The United States Border Patrol in the Algodones Dunes, California]] [[File:Mexico-US border at Tijuana.jpg|thumb|A section of the barrier, made out of steel slats, ending in the Pacific Ocean in San Diego–Tijuana]] [[File:US Navy 090314-N-5253T-010 eabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCB) 133 and NMCB-14 construct a 1,500 foot-long concrete-lined drainage ditch and a 10 foot-high wall to increase security along the U.S. and.jpg|thumb|Douglas, Arizona, 2009]] thumb|The border fence between El Paso and Juarez has an elaborate gate structure to allow floodwaters to pass under. The gates prevent people from being able to cross under and can be raised for floodwaters carrying debris. Beyond the fence is a canal and levee before the Rio Grande. [[File:ElPasoTX CiudadJuarezCH.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of El Paso, Texas, (top and left) and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, (bottom and right). The brightly lit border can clearly be seen as it divides the two cities at night. The dark section at left is where the border crosses Mount Cristo Rey, an unfenced rugged area.|alt=Aerial view of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua; the brightly lighted border can clearly be seen as it divides the two cities at night.]]

The Secure Fence Act of 2006, signed into law on October 26, 2006, by President George W. Bush<ref>{{cite web|title=ABC News: Bush Signs U.S.–Mexico Border Fence Bill | website=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2607329&page=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121011912/http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2607329 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 21, 2007 |access-date=October 26, 2006 }}</ref> authorized and partially funded the potential construction of {{convert|700|mile|km|sp=us}} of physical fence/barriers along the Mexican border. The bill passed with supermajorities in both chambers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00262|title=U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress – 2nd Session|access-date=August 12, 2019|archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630104555/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00262|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll446.xml |title=Final Vote Results for Roll Call 446 – H R 6061 Recorded Vote 14-Sep-2006 3:41 pm Question: On Passage Bill Title: Secure Fence Act of 2006 |website=clerk.house.gov |access-date=August 12, 2019 |archive-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018231616/http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll446.xml |url-status=live }}</ref> Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff announced that an eight-month test of the virtual fence he favored would precede any construction of a physical barrier.

The government of Mexico and ministers of several Latin American countries condemned the plans. Governor of Texas Rick Perry expressed his opposition, saying that the border should be more open and should support safe and legal migration with the use of technology.<ref>{{cite web| title=Rechaza gobernador de Texas muro fronterizo| url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/326377.html| language=es| access-date=March 7, 2006| archive-date=January 9, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109161131/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/326377.html| url-status=dead}}</ref> The barrier expansion was opposed by a unanimous vote by the Laredo, Texas, City Council.<ref name="Rowley">James Rowley, [https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=amtYXnOdOs0o "U.S.–Mexico Border Fence Plan Will Be 'Revisited' By Congress," Bloomberg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222025346/https://www.bloomberg.com/tosv2.html?vid=&uuid=2e8bfcb0-74b9-11eb-b29f-d9eb188e5e40&url=L2FwcHMvbmV3cz9waWQ9bmV3c2FyY2hpdmUmc2lkPWFtdFlYbk9kT3Mwbw== |date=February 22, 2021 }} January 17, 2007.</ref> Laredo mayor Raul G. Salinas said that the bill would devastate Laredo. He stated, "These are people that are sustaining our economy by 40%, and I am gonna close the door on them and put [up] a wall? You don't do that. It's like a slap in the face." He hoped that Congress would revise the bill to better reflect the realities of life on the border.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5543027| title=Immigration Debate Divides Laredo| work=NPR| date=July 8, 2006| access-date=September 28, 2007| last=Kahn| first=Carrie| archive-date=February 28, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228231131/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5543027| url-status=live}}</ref>

Secretary Chertoff exercised his waiver authority on April 1, 2008, to "waive in their entirety" the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act to extend triple fencing through the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve near San Diego.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/library/DHS_Hidalgo_Fence_Waiver.pdf|title=Billing Code 4410-10 Department of Homeland Security}}<br />{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PeVi8_N-agIC&pg=PA379|title=A Companion to Border Studies|author1=Thomas M. Wilson|author2=Hastings Donnan|date=2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-9893-6|page=379}}</ref> By January 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security had spent $40 million on environmental analysis and mitigation measures aimed at blunting any possible adverse impact that the fence might have on the environment. On January 16, 2009, DHS announced it was pledging an additional $50 million for that purpose, and signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior for use of the additional funding.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/17/us/17border.html | work=The New York Times | title=Border Plan Will Address Harm Done at Fence Site | first=Randal C. | last=Archibold | date=January 17, 2009 | access-date=March 27, 2010}}</ref> In January 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that it had more than {{convert|580|mi|km|sp=us}} of barriers in place.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/us/08chertoff.html U.S. Plans Border 'Surge' Against Any Drug Wars] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611170005/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/us/08chertoff.html |date=June 11, 2019 }} ''The New York Times'', January 7, 2009.</ref>

=== Obama administration (2009–2017)=== On March 16, 2010, DHS announced that there would be a halt to expanding the virtual fence beyond two pilot projects in Arizona.<ref name="freeze">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/16/AR2010031603573.html|title=Work to cease on 'virtual fence' along U.S.–Mexico border|last=Hsu|first=Spencer S.|date=March 16, 2010|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-date=October 13, 2017|access-date=September 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013060759/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/16/AR2010031603573.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Contractor Boeing Corporation had numerous delays and cost overruns. Boeing had initially used police-dispatching software that was unable to process all of the information coming from the border. The $50&nbsp;million of remaining funding would be used for mobile surveillance devices, sensors, and radios to patrol and protect the border. At the time, DHS had spent $3.4 billion on border fences and had built {{convert|640|mi|km|sp=us}} of fences and barriers as part of the Secure Border Initiative.<ref name="freeze" />

In May 2011, President Barack Obama stated that the wall was "basically complete", with {{convert|649|mi|km|sp=us}} of 652 planned miles of barrier constructed. Of this, vehicle barriers comprised {{convert|299|mi|km|sp=us}} and pedestrian fence {{convert|350|mi|km|sp=us}}. Obama stated that:<blockquote>We have gone above and beyond what was requested by the very Republicans who said they supported broader reform as long as we got serious about enforcement. All the stuff they asked for, we've done. But ... I suspect there are still going to be some who are trying to move the goal posts on us one more time. They'll want a higher fence. Maybe they'll need a moat. Maybe they want alligators in the moat.{{efn|Privately suggested by Obama's successor, Republican Donald Trump<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shear |first1=Michael D. |last2=Davis |first2=Julie Hirschfeld |title=Shoot Them in the Legs, Trump Suggested: Inside His Border War |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/politics/trump-border-wars.html |access-date=October 1, 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=October 1, 2019 |archive-date=October 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001220059/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/politics/trump-border-wars.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}} They'll never be satisfied. And I understand that. That's politics.<ref name=Farley20110516>{{cite web|last=Farley|first=Robert|date=May 16, 2011|title=Obama says the border fence is 'now basically complete'|url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/may/16/barack-obama/obama-says-border-fence-now-basically-complete/|access-date=July 27, 2019|website=Politifact|archive-date=July 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728035556/https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/may/16/barack-obama/obama-says-border-fence-now-basically-complete/|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

The Republican Party's 2012 platform stated that "The double-layered fencing on the border that was enacted by Congress in 2006, but never completed, must finally be built."<ref>{{cite web|title=2012 Republican Party Platform|url=http://www.gop.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2012GOPPlatform.pdf|publisher=The Republican National Convention|access-date=September 24, 2012|archive-date=July 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730001737/http://www.gop.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2012GOPPlatform.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The Secure Fence Act's costs were estimated at $6&nbsp;billion,<ref>{{cite news |title= With Senate Vote, Congress Passes Border Fence Bill |first= Jonathan |last= Weisman |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= September 30, 2006 |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092901912.html }}</ref> more than the Customs and Border Protection's entire annual discretionary budget of $5.6&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web |work= United States Department of Homeland Security |title= Budget-in-Brief |date= 2006 |url= https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Budget_BIB-FY2006.pdf }}</ref> The Washington Office on Latin America noted in 2013 that the cost of complying with the Secure Fence Act's mandate was the reason that it had not been completely fulfilled.<ref>{{cite web |title= A budget-busting proposal in the Republican platform |work= Border Facts: Separating Rhetoric from Reality |first= Adam |last= Isaacson |url= http://borderfactcheck.tumblr.com/post/30408050910/a-budget-busting-proposal-in-the-republican |year= 2013 |access-date= October 2, 2019 |archive-date= September 5, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150905081917/http://borderfactcheck.tumblr.com/post/30408050910/a-budget-busting-proposal-in-the-republican |url-status= live }}</ref>

A 2016 report by the Government Accountability Office confirmed that the government had completed the fence by 2015.<ref name="Linskey">Annie Linskey, [https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/01/26/when-wall-was-fence-and-democrats-embraced/QE7ieCBXjXVxO63pLMTe9O/story.html In 2006, Democrats were saying 'build that fence!'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127202937/https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/01/26/when-wall-was-fence-and-democrats-embraced/QE7ieCBXjXVxO63pLMTe9O/story.html |date=January 27, 2021 }}, ''Boston Globe'' (January 27, 2017).</ref> A 2017 report noted that "In addition to the {{convert|654|mile|km|sp=us}} of primary fencing, [Customs and Border Protection] has also deployed additional layers of pedestrian fencing behind the primary border fencing, including {{convert|37|mile|km|sp=us}} of secondary fencing and {{convert|14|mile|km|sp=us}} of tertiary fencing."<ref>GAO February 2017, p. 9.</ref>

===First Trump administration (2017–2021)=== {{See also|Executive Order 13767|Immigration policy of the first Trump administration|2017 Mexico–United States diplomatic crisis}} [[File:POTUS visits DHS (32174751680).jpg|thumb|left|President Donald Trump signing Executive Order 13767]] {{Donald Trump series}}

The concept for the proposed expansion of the border wall was developed in 2014 by Donald Trump's 2015–2016 presidential campaign advisers Sam Nunberg and Roger Stone as a talking point Trump could use to tie his business experience as a builder and developer to his immigration policy proposals.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/us/politics/donald-trump-border-wall.html|title=The Border Wall: How a Potent Symbol Is Now Boxing Trump In|last1=Davis|first1=Julie Hirschfeld|date=January 5, 2019|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=January 6, 2019|last2=Baker|first2=Peter|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105235710/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/us/politics/donald-trump-border-wall.html|archive-date=January 5, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Anderson">{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Stuart |title=Where The Idea For Donald Trump's Wall Came From |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2019/01/04/where-the-idea-for-donald-trumps-wall-came-from/ |website=Forbes |access-date=August 17, 2020 |date=January 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106012617/https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2019/01/04/where-the-idea-for-donald-trumps-wall-came-from/|archive-date=January 6, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The idea for the expansion of "the Wall", as Nunberg and Stone called it, was first aired publicly in January 2015 at the Iowa Freedom Summit hosted by Citizens United and Steve King.<ref name="Anderson"/>

Trump proposed the wall's expansion again, along with a claim that Mexico would pay for it, during his June 2015 candidacy announcement. Throughout the 2015–2016 presidential campaign, Trump called for the construction of a much larger and fortified border wall, claiming that if elected, he would "build the wall and make Mexico pay for it".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/10/trump-claims-he-never-said-mexico-would-cut-check-wall-lets-go-tape/|title=Trump claims he never said Mexico would cut a check for the wall. Let's go to the tape.|last=Bump|first=Philip|date=January 10, 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207105308/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/10/trump-claims-he-never-said-mexico-would-cut-check-wall-lets-go-tape/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto maintained that his country would not pay for the wall.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38740717|title=Donald Trump: 'We will build Mexico border wall'|work=BBC News|date=January 26, 2016|access-date=January 26, 2016|archive-date=January 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129090614/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38740717|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37243269|title=How realistic is Donald Trump's Mexico wall?|work=BBC News|date=January 26, 2016|access-date=January 26, 2016|archive-date=September 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901161626/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37243269|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2016/03/07/1079292|title=Quien se mueve sí sale en la foto|language=es|work=Excelsior|date=March 7, 2016|access-date=January 25, 2017|archive-date=April 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411142535/https://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2016/03/07/1079292|url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 25, 2017, the Trump administration signed Executive Order 13767, which formally directed the U.S. government to begin attempting to construct a border wall using existing federal funding, although construction did not begin at this time because a formal budget had not been developed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/refugees-immigrants-wall-trump.html|title=Trump Orders Mexican Border Wall to Be Built and Is Expected to Block Syrian Refugees|last=Davis|first=Julie Hirschfeld|date=January 25, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 26, 2017|url-access=limited|archive-date=January 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126024541/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/refugees-immigrants-wall-trump.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began accepting prototype ideas for a U.S.–Mexico border wall from companies and said it would issue a request for proposals by March 24.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-wall-idUSKBN1632LI|title=U.S. agency seeks ideas for Trump's proposed border wall|date=February 24, 2017|website=Reuters|access-date=January 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125183146/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-wall-idUSKBN1632LI|archive-date=January 25, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Gonzales|first=Richard|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/03/06/518743059/rush-begins-for-contractors-who-want-in-on-border-wall-construction|title=Rush Begins For Contractors Who Want In On Border Wall Construction|work=Morning Edition|publisher=NPR|date=March 6, 2017|access-date=January 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125131002/https://www.npr.org/2017/03/06/518743059/rush-begins-for-contractors-who-want-in-on-border-wall-construction|archive-date=January 25, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2013, a Bloomberg Government analysis estimated that it would cost up to $28 billion (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=28000000000|start_year=2013}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) annually to seal the border.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dwoskin|first=Elizabeth|date=March 13, 2013|title=Sealing the U.S. Border Would Cost an Additional $28 Billion a Year|work=Bloomberg Businessweek|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-03-13/sealing-the-u-dot-s-dot-border-would-cost-an-additional-28-billion-a-year|access-date=December 17, 2020|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126120523/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-03-13/sealing-the-u-dot-s-dot-border-would-cost-an-additional-28-billion-a-year|url-status=live}}</ref> While campaigning for the presidency in early 2016, Trump claimed it would be a one-time cost of only $8&nbsp;billion,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kessler|first=Glenn|date=February 11, 2016|title=Trump's dubious claim that his border wall would cost $8 billion|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/02/11/trumps-dubious-claim-that-his-border-wall-would-cost-8-billion/|access-date=December 17, 2020|archive-date=January 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110083919/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/02/11/trumps-dubious-claim-that-his-border-wall-would-cost-8-billion/|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> while Republican House speaker Paul Ryan and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said $15&nbsp;billion,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Burnett|first=John|date=January 19, 2020|title=$11 Billion And Counting: Trump's Border Wall Would Be The World's Most Costly|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/01/19/797319968/-11-billion-and-counting-trumps-border-wall-would-be-the-world-s-most-costly|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729161727/https://www.npr.org/2020/01/19/797319968/-11-billion-and-counting-trumps-border-wall-would-be-the-world-s-most-costly|archive-date=July 29, 2020|access-date=January 22, 2020|website=NPR News|language=en}}</ref> and the Trump administration's own early estimates ranged up to $25&nbsp;billion.<ref name="auto" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Ainsley|first=Julia Edwards|date=January 26, 2017|title=President Trump moves ahead with wall, puts stamp on U.S. immigration, security policy|website=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-idUSKBN1591HP|url-status=live|access-date=January 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618133845/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-idUSKBN1591HP|archive-date=June 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Isidore|first1=Chris|last2=Sahadi|first2=Jeanne|date=January 26, 2017|title=Here's how much Trump's border wall will cost|website=CNN|url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/25/news/economy/trump-mexico-border-wall-cost/|url-status=dead|access-date=January 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422162547/https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/25/news/economy/trump-mexico-border-wall-cost/|archive-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|6nMj4znhqxY|PBS NewsHour Weekend full episode March 18, 2017}} at 4:18 of 22:29</ref> The Department of Homeland Security's internal estimate in early 2017, shortly after Trump took office, was that his proposed border wall would cost $21.6&nbsp;billion and take 3.5 years to build.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ainsley|first=Julia Edwards|date=February 9, 2017|title=Trump border 'wall' to cost $21.6 billion, take 3.5 years to build: internal report|website=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-wall-exclusive/exclusive-trump-border-wall-to-cost-21-6-billion-take-3-5-years-to-build-internal-report-idUSKBN15O2ZN|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729095829/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-wall-exclusive/exclusive-trump-border-wall-to-cost-21-6-billion-take-3-5-years-to-build-internal-report-idUSKBN15O2ZN|archive-date=July 29, 2020}}</ref>

In September 2017, the U.S. government announced the start of construction of eight prototype barriers made from concrete and other materials.<ref name="CarranzaPrototypes">{{cite web |url= https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2017/10/18/first-look-8-possible-versions-president-donald-trump-border-wall/747998001/ |title= A first look at 8 possible versions of President Donald Trump's border wall |last= Carranza |first= Rafael |date= October 18, 2017 |work= The Arizona Republic |access-date= April 1, 2021 |archive-date= December 6, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201206222547/https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2017/10/18/first-look-8-possible-versions-president-donald-trump-border-wall/747998001/ |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41407194 | title=US–Mexico border wall prototype construction starts | date=September 27, 2017 | access-date=September 28, 2017 | website=BBC News | first=Peter | last=Bowes | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927135639/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41407194 | archive-date=September 27, 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref> On June 3, 2018, the San Diego section of wall construction began.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/construction-on-san-diego-section-of-us-border-wall-begins-cbp-says | title=Construction on San Diego section of US border wall begins, CBP says | date=June 1, 2018 | access-date=April 5, 2019 | website=Fox News | first=Elizabeth | last=Zwirz | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405205118/https://www.foxnews.com/us/construction-on-san-diego-section-of-us-border-wall-begins-cbp-says | archive-date=April 5, 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref> On October 26, a {{convert|2|mile|adj=mid|spell=in}} stretch of 30-foot steel bollards in Calexico, California, was commemorated as the first section of Trump's wall, although media coverage heavily debated whether it should be considered a "wall" or a "fence".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/dhs-chief-marks-first-section-trump-s-border-wall-it-n924941|title=DHS chief marks first section of Trump's border wall. (But it kinda looks like a fence.)|last=Timm|first=Jane C.|website=NBC News|date=October 26, 2018|access-date=October 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028051404/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/dhs-chief-marks-first-section-trump-s-border-wall-it-n924941|archive-date=October 28, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Trump scheduled a visit to this section in April 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/04/04/709999340/trump-set-to-visit-border-town-of-calexico-where-residents-fear-border-shutdown|title=As Trump Visits Calexico, Calif., Residents Worry About Rising Border Wall Tension|last=Rivlin-Nadler|first=Max|date=April 4, 2019|website=NPR|language=en|access-date=April 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404212043/https://www.npr.org/2019/04/04/709999340/trump-set-to-visit-border-town-of-calexico-where-residents-fear-border-shutdown|archive-date=April 4, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Trump's campaign promise has faced a host of legal and logistical challenges since. In March 2018, the Trump administration secured $1.6 billion from Congress for projects at the border for existing designs of approximately {{convert|100|mile|km|sp=us}} of new and replacement walls.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46748492 |title = Trump's wall: How much has been built so far? |author1 = Jack Goodman |author2 = Micah Luxen |website = BBC.com |date = January 5, 2019 |access-date = February 17, 2019 |archive-date = February 17, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210217040826/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46748492 |url-status = live }}</ref> From December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019, the federal government was partially shut down because of Trump's declared intention to veto any spending bill that did not include $5&nbsp;billion in funding for a border wall.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/latest-news-updates/government-shutdown-2019 |title=Government Shutdown 2018: Latest Updates & Reaction |date=December 27, 2018 |website=Politico |access-date=December 28, 2018 |archive-date=January 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124141650/https://www.politico.com/latest-news-updates/government-shutdown-2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On May 24, 2019, federal judge Haywood Gilliam in the Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from redirecting funds under the national emergency declaration issued earlier in the year to fund a planned wall along the border with Mexico. The injunction applies specifically to money the administration intended to allocate from other agencies and limits wall construction projects in El Paso and Yuma.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/24/us/judge-blocks-trump-border-wall.html |title=Federal Judge Blocks Part of Trump's Plan to Build Border Wall |last=Del Real |first=Jose |date=May 24, 2019 |website=The New York Times |language=en-US |access-date=May 25, 2019 |archive-date=May 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525020148/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/24/us/judge-blocks-trump-border-wall.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On June 28, Gilliam blocked the reallocation of $2.5&nbsp;billion of funding from the Department of Defense to the construction of segments of the border wall categorized as high priority by the Trump administration (spanning across Arizona, California and New Mexico).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/us-judge-expands-ban-on-constructing-sections-of-trumps-border-wall-in-calif-ariz-while-also-clearing-way-for-quick-appeal/2019/06/28/b3e36132-99f5-11e9-8d0a-5edd7e2025b1_story.html|title=U.S. judge expands ban on constructing sections of Trump's border wall in Calif., Ariz., while also clearing way for quick appeal|access-date=June 28, 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-date=June 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629082520/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/us-judge-expands-ban-on-constructing-sections-of-trumps-border-wall-in-calif-ariz-while-also-clearing-way-for-quick-appeal/2019/06/28/b3e36132-99f5-11e9-8d0a-5edd7e2025b1_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The decision was upheld five days later by a majority in the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court<ref>{{cite web |last=Kanno-Youngs |first=Zolan |title=Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Blocking Trump From Using Defense Funds for Border Wall |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/03/us/politics/border-wall-funds-ruling.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=July 5, 2019 |date=July 3, 2019}}</ref> but was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court on July 26.<ref>{{cite news|last=Liptak|first=Adam|date=July 26, 2019|title=Supreme Court Lets Trump Proceed on Border Wall|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/us/politics/supreme-court-border-wall-trump.amp.html|work=The New York Times|location=New York City|access-date=July 28, 2019}}</ref> On September 3, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper authorized the use of $3.6&nbsp;billion in military construction funding for {{convert|175|mile|km|sp=us}} of the barrier.<ref>{{cite news |title=Read: Letter announcing decision to divert military funds for Trump's border wall |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/03/politics/sasc-border-wall-military-funds-letter/index.html |access-date=September 3, 2019 |work=CNN |date=September 3, 2019 |archive-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903231323/https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/03/politics/sasc-border-wall-military-funds-letter/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="divert">{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Zachary |last2=Browne |first2=Ryan |title=Pentagon diverts $3.6 billion in military construction funds to build Trump's border wall |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/03/politics/esper-military-construction-funds-border-wall/index.html |access-date=September 3, 2019 |work=CNN |date=September 3, 2019 |archive-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903231316/https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/03/politics/esper-military-construction-funds-border-wall/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The House and Senate have twice voted to terminate Trump's emergency declaration, but the president vetoed both resolutions.<ref>{{cite web |last=Samuels |first=Brett |title=Trump again vetoes resolution blocking national emergency for border wall |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/465992-trump-vetoes-congressional-resolution-to-overturn-national-emergency |website=TheHill |access-date=October 16, 2019 |date=October 15, 2019 |archive-date=October 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016071738/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/465992-trump-vetoes-congressional-resolution-to-overturn-national-emergency |url-status=live }}</ref> In October, a lawsuit filed in El Paso County produced a ruling that the emergency declaration was unlawful, as it fails to meet the National Emergencies Act's definition of an emergency.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alvarez |first1=Priscilla |title=Federal judge says Trump's use of emergency funds to build wall is unlawful |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/11/politics/judge-trump-border-wall-funds/index.html |access-date=October 12, 2019 |work=CNN |date=October 11, 2019 |archive-date=October 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012000658/https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/11/politics/judge-trump-border-wall-funds/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On December 10, a federal judge in the case blocked the use of the funding,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alvarez |first1=Priscilla |last2=Kelly |first2=Caroline |title=Federal judge blocks use of billions of dollars in Pentagon funds to build border wall |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/10/politics/federal-judge-military-construction-border/index.html |access-date=December 14, 2019 |work=CNN |date=December 10, 2019 |archive-date=December 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214005755/https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/10/politics/federal-judge-military-construction-border/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but on January 8, 2020, a federal appeals court granted a stay of the ruling, freeing $3.6&nbsp;billion for the wall.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alvarez |first1=Priscilla |last2=LeBlanc |first2=Paul |title=Appeals court allows use of $3.6 billion in military funds for border wall |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/08/politics/appeals-court-trump-administration-border-funds/index.html |access-date=January 8, 2020 |work=CNN |date=January 8, 2020 |archive-date=January 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109052952/https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/08/politics/appeals-court-trump-administration-border-funds/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:President Trump Travels to Arizona (50040937841).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|President Donald Trump with a section of the border wall near Yuma, Arizona, June 2020]]

{{As of|2019|August}}, the Trump administration's barrier construction had been limited to replacing sections that needed repair or outdated,<ref>{{cite web |last=Giaritelli |first=Anna |title=Trump has not built a single mile of new border fence after 30 months in office |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-has-not-built-a-single-mile-of-new-border-fence-after-30-months-in-office |website=Washington Examiner |access-date=July 23, 2019 |date=July 20, 2019 |archive-date=July 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722000557/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-has-not-built-a-single-mile-of-new-border-fence-after-30-months-in-office |url-status=live }}</ref> with {{convert|60|mile|km|sp=us}} of replacement wall built in the Southwest since 2017.<ref>{{cite web |last=Valverde |first=Miriam |title=Border wall under way? It's replacement fencing |url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2019/aug/30/donald-trumps-border-wall-how-much-has-really-been/ |website=PolitiFact |access-date=September 2, 2019 |date=August 30, 2019 |archive-date=September 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902174752/https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2019/aug/30/donald-trumps-border-wall-how-much-has-really-been/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As of September 12, 2019, the Trump administration plans for "Between 450 and 500 miles (724–806 kilometers) of fencing along the nearly 2,000-mile (3,218-kilometer) border by the end of 2020"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/a619922781f441c9adaa494f47001429|title=450 miles of border wall by next year? In Arizona, it starts|date=September 12, 2019|website=AP News|access-date=December 20, 2019|archive-date=January 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119221424/https://apnews.com/a619922781f441c9adaa494f47001429|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Norman |first=Greg |title=Border Patrol releases drone footage showing miles of 'new wall system' being built |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/border-patrol-showcases-new-wall |website=Fox News |access-date=September 2, 2019 |date=August 26, 2019 |archive-date=September 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902080733/https://www.foxnews.com/us/border-patrol-showcases-new-wall |url-status=live }}</ref> with an estimated total cost of $18.4&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Miroff |first1=Nick |last2=Dawsey |first2=Josh |title=Trump officials considering plan to divert billions of dollars in additional funds for border barrier |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trump-officials-considering-plan-to-divert-billions-of-dollars-in-additional-funds-for-border-barrier/2019/09/19/52897dce-d652-11e9-9610-fb56c5522e1c_story.html |access-date=September 22, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 19, 2019 |archive-date=September 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921180827/https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trump-officials-considering-plan-to-divert-billions-of-dollars-in-additional-funds-for-border-barrier/2019/09/19/52897dce-d652-11e9-9610-fb56c5522e1c_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Privately owned land adjacent to the border would have to be acquired by the U.S. government to be built upon.<ref name="divert" /><ref name="NYT 2019/12/26">{{Cite news|last=Kanno-Youngs|first=Zolan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/26/us/politics/trump-border-wall.html|title=A Barrier to Trump's Border Wall: Landowners in Texas|date=December 26, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 26, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226161726/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/26/us/politics/trump-border-wall.html|archive-date=December 26, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|url-access=limited}}</ref>

On June 23, 2020, Trump visited Yuma, Arizona, for a campaign rally commemorating the completion of {{Convert|200|mi|km|sp=us}} of the wall.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lemire|first=Jonathan|date=June 23, 2020|title=Watch: Trump visits Arizona to mark construction of 200 miles of wall along U.S.-Mexico border|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-trump-visits-arizona-to-mark-construction-of-200-miles-of-wall-along-u-s-mexico-border|access-date=June 24, 2020|website=PBS NewsHour|language=en-us|archive-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125040153/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-trump-visits-arizona-to-mark-construction-of-200-miles-of-wall-along-u-s-mexico-border|url-status=live}}</ref> U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that almost all of this was replacement fencing.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Eltohamy|first=Farah|date=June 23, 2020|title=Trump in Yuma to mark 216 miles of border wall, still a work in progress|language=en-US|work=Cronkite News – Arizona PBS|url=https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2020/06/22/trump-in-yuma-to-mark-216-miles-of-border-wall-still-a-work-in-progress/|access-date=July 16, 2020|archive-date=February 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222025424/https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2020/06/22/trump-in-yuma-to-mark-216-miles-of-border-wall-still-a-work-in-progress/|url-status=live}}</ref> By the end of Trump's term on January 21, 2021, {{Convert|452|mi|km|sp=us}} had been built at last report by CBP on January 5, much of it replacing outdated or dilapidated existing barriers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Border Wall System|url=https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/along-us-borders/border-wall-system|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121203240/https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/along-us-borders/border-wall-system|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 21, 2021|website=Wayback Machine archive of U.S. Customs and Border Protection|date=January 21, 2021|access-date=June 11, 2021}}</ref>

====Contractors and independent efforts==== As of February 2019, contractors were preparing to construct $600 million worth of replacement barriers along the south Texas Rio Grande Valley section of the border wall, approved by Congress in March 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/639cbf88cdd042f493f4e6c3d7f1f093|title=Trump gets wishes on border wall – sort of|last1=Spagat|first1=Elliot|last2=Mascaro|first2=Lisa|date=March 23, 2018|website=AP News|access-date=April 10, 2019|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111222821/https://apnews.com/639cbf88cdd042f493f4e6c3d7f1f093|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/e653d5a305114835bb399e480ac44ab8|title=US prepares to start building portion of Texas border wall|last=Merchant|first=Nomaan|date=February 4, 2019|website=AP News|access-date=February 8, 2019|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126220118/https://apnews.com/e653d5a305114835bb399e480ac44ab8|url-status=live}}</ref> In mid-April 2019, former Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach visited Coolidge, Arizona, to observe a demonstration by North Dakota's Fisher Industries of how it would build a border fence. The company maintained that it could erect {{convert|218|mile|km|sp=us}} of the barrier for $3.3 billion and be able to complete it in 13 months. Spin cameras positioned atop the fence would use facial-recognition technology, and underground fiber optic cables could detect and differentiate between human activity, vehicles, tunneling, and animals as distant as {{convert|40|ft|m|sp=us}} away. The proposed barrier would be constructed with {{convert|42|mile|km|sp=us}} near Yuma and {{convert|91|mile|km|sp=us}} near Tucson, Arizona, {{convert|69|mile|km|sp=us}} near El Paso, Texas, and {{convert|15|mile|km|sp=us}} near El Centro, California—reportedly costing $12.5&nbsp;million per mile ($7.8&nbsp;million per kilometer).<ref name="examiner" /> In April 2019, U.S. senator Bill Cassidy said that he traveled with the group of politicians and administration officials over the Easter recess to Coolidge ({{convert|120|mile|km|sp=us}} north of the Mexico border) because he felt that insufficient barrier and border enhancements had been erected since Trump became president.<ref name="examiner">[https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/kris-kobach-and-fellow-border-hawks-join-army-corps-in-arizona-to-see-companys-border-fence-proposal Kris Kobach and fellow border hawks join Army Corps in Arizona to see company's border fence proposal], ''Washington Examiner'', Anna Giaritelli, April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.</ref> U.S. senator Kevin Cramer was also there, promoting Fisher Industries, which demonstrated the construction of a {{convert|56|ft|m|adj=on}} fence in Coolidge.<ref>[http://www.minotdailynews.com/news/local-news/2019/04/nd-company-demonstrates-building-border-wall/ ND company demonstrates building border wall] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227160903/https://www.minotdailynews.com/news/local-news/2019/04/nd-company-demonstrates-building-border-wall/ |date=December 27, 2019 }}, ''Minot Daily News'', Eloise Ogden, April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.</ref>

A private organization founded by military veteran Brian Kolfage called "We Build the Wall" raised over $20 million beginning in 2018, with President Trump's encouragement and with leadership from Kobach and Steve Bannon. Over the 2019 Memorial Day weekend, the organization constructed a {{convert|0.5|mile|km|adj=on}} to {{convert|1|mile|km|adj=on}} "weathered steel" bollard fence near El Paso on private land adjoining the U.S.–Mexico border using $6–8&nbsp;million of the donated funds. Kolfage's organization says it has plans to construct further barriers on private lands adjoining the border in Texas and California.<ref>Catherine E. Shoichet, Leyla Santiago, Devon M. Sayers, Jeremy Diamond and Rosa Flores, "[https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/27/politics/private-border-wall-gofundme/index.html A private group says it's started building its own border wall using millions donated in GoFundMe campaign] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723005052/https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/27/politics/private-border-wall-gofundme/index.html |date=July 23, 2019 }}", ''CNN'', May 28, 2019</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/private-group-unveils-crowd-funded-border-wall-legal/story?id=63388582|title=Private group unveils crowd-funded border wall despite legal hurdles|website=abc news|access-date=May 30, 2019|archive-date=December 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215195955/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/private-group-unveils-crowd-funded-border-wall-legal/story?id=63388582|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Camacho, Marian, "[https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/battle-over-private-border-wall-building-continues/5371451/?cat=500 Construction on private border wall continues] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811045917/https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/battle-over-private-border-wall-building-continues/5371451/?cat=500 |date=August 11, 2019 }}", ''KOB'', May 30, 2019</ref> On December 3, 2019, a Hidalgo County judge ordered the group to temporarily halt all construction because of its plans to build adjacent to the Rio Grande, which a lawyer for the National Butterfly Center argues would create a flooding risk.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Armus |first1=Teo |title=Right-wing group must stop building private border wall in South Texas, judge says in temporary order |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/04/brian-kolfage-we-build-wall-temporary-order-butterfly-center-texas/ |access-date=December 4, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 4, 2019 |archive-date=December 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204214024/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/04/brian-kolfage-we-build-wall-temporary-order-butterfly-center-texas/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On January 9, 2020, a federal judge lifted an injunction, allowing a construction firm to move forward with the {{convert|3|mile|km|adj=on}} project along the Rio Grande.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Langford |first1=Cameron |title=Judge clears way for construction of private US–Mexico border fence |url=http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/011020_border_fence_ruling/judge-clears-way-construction-private-us-mexico-border-fence/ |access-date=January 10, 2020 |work=Tucson Sentinel |date=January 10, 2020 |archive-date=August 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820154911/http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/011020_border_fence_ruling/judge-clears-way-construction-private-us-mexico-border-fence/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This ended a month long court battle with both the Federal Government and the National Butterfly Center which both tried to block construction efforts. By August 2020, the portions constructed by the organization were already in serious danger of collapsing due to erosion, and the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment charging four people, including Bannon,<ref name="Reason 2020">{{cite magazine|last=Binion|first=Billy|date=August 21, 2020|title=Wall Funding Scandal Exposes Steve Bannon's False Populism|url=https://reason.com/2020/08/21/wall-funding-scandal-exposes-steve-bannons-false-populism/|magazine=Reason|access-date=August 24, 2020|archive-date=August 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200822212803/https://reason.com/2020/08/21/wall-funding-scandal-exposes-steve-bannons-false-populism/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Why there's a Colorado P.O. Box listed on that viral border wall GoFundMe page|url=https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/why-theres-a-colorado-po-box-listed-on-that-viral-border-wall-gofundme-page/73-716c9985-1d58-45cf-b95c-c65d398c972f|access-date=August 20, 2020|website=KUSA.com|date=December 21, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=July 2, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702093257/https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/why-theres-a-colorado-po-box-listed-on-that-viral-border-wall-gofundme-page/73-716c9985-1d58-45cf-b95c-c65d398c972f|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Castle Rock man charged alongside ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon in border wall fundraising scheme|url=https://coloradosun.com/2020/08/20/tim-shea-castle-rock-indicted-steve-bannon/|access-date=August 20, 2020|website=The Colorado Sun|date=August 20, 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=January 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118212920/https://coloradosun.com/2020/08/20/tim-shea-castle-rock-indicted-steve-bannon/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hawkins|first=Erik|date=August 20, 2020|title=Timothy Shea: Who Is Steve Bannon's Co-Defendant in Build the Wall Indictment?|url=https://heavy.com/news/2020/08/timothy-shea/|access-date=August 20, 2020|website=Heavy.com|language=en-US|archive-date=January 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119074809/https://heavy.com/news/2020/08/timothy-shea/|url-status=live}}</ref> with a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors by illegally taking funds intended to finance construction for personal use.<ref name="Justice.gov">{{cite news|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/leaders-we-build-wall-online-fundraising-campaign-charged-defrauding-hundreds-thousands|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820134930/https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/leaders-we-build-wall-online-fundraising-campaign-charged-defrauding-hundreds-thousands|title=Leaders Of 'We Build The Wall' Online Fundraising Campaign Charged With Defrauding Hundreds Of Thousands Of Donors|url-status=live|work=United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|archive-date=August 20, 2020|date=August 20, 2020|access-date=August 20, 2020}}</ref> An unpublished memo from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection leaked in March 2022 revealed that the wall had been breached more than 3,200 times from October 2018 to September 2021. Nonetheless, CBP officials say the bollard fencing remains a valuable border security tool when combined with surveillance technology and sufficient personnel.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/02/trump-border-wall-breached/|last=Miroff|first=Nick|title=Trump's border wall has been breached more than 3,000 times by smugglers, CBP records show|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 2, 2022|access-date=July 28, 2023|archive-date=March 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303193018/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/02/trump-border-wall-breached/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Outcome==== As of December 2020, the total funding given for new fencing was about $15&nbsp;billion (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=15000000000|start_year=2020}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}), a third of which had been given by Congress while Trump had ordered the rest taken from the military budget. This funding was intended to build new fencing over {{convert|738|mile}}, at a cost of about $20 million per mile ($12.5 million per kilometer); this would cover a little more than half the approximately {{cvt|1,300|mile}} that had no fencing when Trump took office.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Trevizo|first1=Perla|last2=Schwartz|first2=Jeremy|date=October 27, 2020|title=Records Show Trump's Border Wall Is Costing Taxpayers Billions More Than Initial Contracts|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/records-show-trumps-border-wall-is-costing-taxpayers-billions-more-than-initial-contracts?token=3p3X0N3JfobGr1KqFitlqTfpfy7f_krE|access-date=December 17, 2020|website=ProPublica|language=en|archive-date=December 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217024815/https://www.propublica.org/article/records-show-trumps-border-wall-is-costing-taxpayers-billions-more-than-initial-contracts?token=3p3X0N3JfobGr1KqFitlqTfpfy7f_krE|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Dawsey|first1=Josh|last2=Miroff|first2=Nick|date=December 17, 2020|title=Biden order to halt border wall project would save U.S. $2.6 billion, Pentagon estimates show|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/stopping-border-wall-save-billions/2020/12/16/fa096958-3fd1-11eb-a402-fba110db3b42_story.html|access-date=December 17, 2020|archive-date=December 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217014506/https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/stopping-border-wall-save-billions/2020/12/16/fa096958-3fd1-11eb-a402-fba110db3b42_story.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref>

A March 2021 review of the Trump work on the wall found only {{convert|47|mile}} of new barriers where none had previously existed. While Trump had described the new wall as "virtually impenetrable", it was found that smugglers had repeatedly sawed through the wall with cheap power tools. Also, new dirt roads that had been used to access the wall construction served as new access roads for smugglers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Benen |first1=Steve |author-link1=Steve Benen |title=Trump's wall inadvertently makes things easier for smugglers |url=https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-s-wall-inadvertently-makes-things-easier-smugglers-n1261220 |website=MSNBC |access-date=April 1, 2021 |date=March 16, 2021 |archive-date=March 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317132042/https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-s-wall-inadvertently-makes-things-easier-smugglers-n1261220 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Biden administration (2021–2025)=== {{See also|Immigration policy of the Biden administration}} President Joe Biden signed an executive order<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|date=January 21, 2021|title=Proclamation on the Termination Of Emergency With Respect To The Southern Border Of The United States And Redirection Of Funds Diverted To Border Wall Construction|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/proclamation-termination-of-emergency-with-respect-to-southern-border-of-united-states-and-redirection-of-funds-diverted-to-border-wall-construction/|access-date=March 31, 2021|website=The White House|language=en-US}}</ref> on his first day of office, January 20, 2021, ordering a "pause" in all construction of the wall no later than January 27.<ref name=":9">{{cite news |title=Biden halts border wall building after Trump's final surge |url=https://apnews.com/article/biden-inauguration-joe-biden-donald-trump-oceans-coronavirus-pandemic-bc664278ac096e6ff878116034ec06bb |access-date=January 29, 2021 |work=AP News |date=January 21, 2021 |archive-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217073420/https://apnews.com/article/biden-inauguration-joe-biden-donald-trump-oceans-coronavirus-pandemic-bc664278ac096e6ff878116034ec06bb |url-status=live }}</ref> The government was given two months to plan how to spend the funds elsewhere and determine how much it would cost to terminate the contracts. There were no plans to tear down parts of the wall that had been built.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Aldridge |first1=Bailey |title=The future of Trump's border wall: What we know after Biden halts construction |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article248768145.html |access-date=January 29, 2021 |publisher=The News & Observer |date=January 26, 2021 |quote=I’m going to make sure that we have border protection but it’s going to be based on making sure that we use high tech capacity to deal with it at the ports of entry.}}</ref> The deployment of 3,000 National Guard troops along the border continued.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Myers |first1=Meghann |title=The border emergency is canceled, but thousands of troops there aren't scheduled to go home |url=https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/01/22/the-border-emergency-is-canceled-but-thousands-of-troops-there-arent-scheduled-to-go-home/ |access-date=January 29, 2021 |work=Military Times |date=January 26, 2021}}</ref> Furthermore, the Biden administration continued to seize land for construction of the border wall.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kumar|first=Anita|date=April 15, 2021|title=Biden promised to stop seizing border wall land. His DOJ is still doing it.|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/15/biden-doj-border-wall-land-482189|access-date=April 17, 2021|website=Politico|language=en|archive-date=July 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702204550/https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/15/biden-doj-border-wall-land-482189|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lonas|first=Lexi|date=April 15, 2021|title=Biden administration still seizing land near border despite plans to stop building wall: report|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/548586-biden-admin-still-seizing-land-near-border-despite-plans-to-stop|access-date=April 17, 2021|website=The Hill|language=en|archive-date=April 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417080532/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/548586-biden-admin-still-seizing-land-near-border-despite-plans-to-stop|url-status=live}}</ref> By December 2021, many contracts had been cancelled, including one requiring the possession of the land of a family represented by the Texas Civil Rights Project.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|last=Alvarez|first=Priscilla|date=December 7, 2021|title=Border land returned to Texas family after it was seized for wall|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/07/politics/biden-border-wall/index.html|access-date=December 26, 2021|website=CNN}}</ref>

In June 2021, Texas governor Greg Abbott announced plans to build a border wall in his state, saying that the state would provide $250 million and that direct donations from the public would be solicited.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Guzman|first=Joseph|date=June 17, 2021|title=Texas governor unveils $250M for 'hundreds of miles' of new border wall|url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/infrastructure/559010-texas-governor-unveils-250-million-for|access-date=June 26, 2021|website=The Hill|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Choi|first=Joseph|date=June 15, 2021|title=Abbott says he'll solicit public donations for border wall|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/558547-abbott-says-hell-solicit-public-donations-for-border-wall|access-date=June 26, 2021|website=The Hill|language=en}}</ref> On June 29, the Republican Study Committee organized a group of two dozen Republican House members to visit a gap in the border where Central Americans were crossing into the country. Representative Mary Miller {{Nowrap|(R-IL)}} stated that "obviously our president has advertised this and facilitated this invasion". Rep. Jim Banks {{Nowrap|(R-IN)}} praised the effectiveness of Trump's wall and said that because of the halted construction, "thousands of migrants [pass] through this area regularly... because there's an open door that allows them to do that". In reference to wristbands on migrants used by Mexican cartels and smugglers to track them, Rep. Madison Cawthorn {{Nowrap|(R-NC)}} stated, "They're basically treating people like Amazon products. ... There is no care that that is a human being, someone who has a soul, someone who has unalienable rights that predate any government."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wong|first=Scott|date=June 30, 2021|title='I want to cry': House Republicans take emotional trip to the border|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/560864-i-want-to-cry-house-republicans-take-emotional-trip-to-the-border|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=The Hill|language=en|archive-date=July 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702163559/https://thehill.com/homenews/house/560864-i-want-to-cry-house-republicans-take-emotional-trip-to-the-border|url-status=live}}</ref> On July 28, 2022, the Biden administration announced it would fill four wide gaps in Arizona near Yuma, an area with some of the busiest corridors for illegal crossings.<ref name=":2"/>

In October 2023, Biden announced he would restart wall construction due to the surge of migrant crossings, while White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Biden believed that a border wall is "not effective".<ref>{{cite web|last=Gillman|first=Todd J.|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2023/10/05/biden-expedites-20-miles-of-new-border-wall-in-south-texas-but-doesnt-think-it-will-work/|title=Biden expedites 20 miles of new border wall in South Texas but doesn't think it will work|website=Dallas Morning News|date=October 5, 2023|access-date=October 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006003000/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2023/10/05/biden-expedites-20-miles-of-new-border-wall-in-south-texas-but-doesnt-think-it-will-work/|archive-date=October 6, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> To expedite production, the Biden administration would waive more than two dozen laws that "protect air, water and endangered species" such as the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hackman|first=Michelle|url=https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/biden-administration-to-resume-border-wall-construction-in-policy-reversal-7ff41d2e|title=Biden Administration to Resume Border Wall Construction in Policy Reversal|website=Wall Street Journal|date=October 5, 2023|access-date=October 5, 2023|archive-date=October 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005152525/https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/biden-administration-to-resume-border-wall-construction-in-policy-reversal-7ff41d2e|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Miroff |first1=Nick |last2=Sacchetti |first2=Maria |date=October 5, 2023 |title=Biden officials will resume Venezuela deportations, extend border wall |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2023/10/05/border-wall-buoys-biden/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006004350/https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2023/10/05/border-wall-buoys-biden/ |archive-date=October 6, 2023 |access-date=October 5, 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> The administration claimed that the money for the wall construction was "allocated during Trump's term in 2019." In 2021, the congress controlled by the Democratic Party ignored Biden's request to rescind the funds.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Owen |first=Quinn |date=October 5, 2023 |title=Why Biden claims he has no choice but to build more of Trump's border wall |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-claims-choice-build-trumps-border-wall/story?id=103757017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006190115/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-claims-choice-build-trumps-border-wall/story?id=103757017 |archive-date=October 6, 2023 |access-date=October 6, 2023 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bayoumi |first=Moustafa |date=October 6, 2023 |title=Why is Joe Biden campaigning for Donald Trump? |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/06/biden-trump-border-wall-immigration-mexico |url-status=live |access-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006185024/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/06/biden-trump-border-wall-immigration-mexico |archive-date=October 6, 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The decision was praised by former president Donald Trump and criticized by Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as "a step backwards" and Jonathan Blazer, director of border strategies for the American Civil Liberties Union as "doubling down on the failed policies of the past."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Mica|last2=Bose|first2=Nandita|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-build-new-barriers-roads-texas-border-area-2023-10-05/|title=Biden to build more US border wall using Trump-era funds|website=Reuters|date=October 5, 2023|access-date=October 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005160422/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-build-new-barriers-roads-texas-border-area-2023-10-05/|archive-date=October 5, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Long|first=Colleen|url=https://apnews.com/article/biden-us-mexico-border-wall-immigration-texas-f99fd10257292a898618236df3613979|title=Biden says he had to use Trump-era funds for the border wall. Asked if barriers work, he says 'No'|website=Associated Press|date=October 5, 2023|access-date=October 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006001246/https://apnews.com/article/biden-us-mexico-border-wall-immigration-texas-f99fd10257292a898618236df3613979|archive-date=October 6, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Binational River Park ==== In 2021, in collaboration with the United States and Mexican ambassadors, as well as businessmen, a binational park was proposed along the Rio Grande between the border towns of Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Supported by the No Border Wall Coalition, the park aims to create a shared recreational space instead of a border wall. Earthjustice estimated that the decision not to build a border wall in Laredo saved {{convert|71|mile|km|sp=us}} of river from destruction and over $1 billion in taxpayer dollars.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 8, 2021 |title=It's Over! The Border Wall in Laredo is Officially Dead |url=https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2021/its-over-the-border-wall-in-laredo-is-officially-dead |access-date=March 31, 2022 |website=Earthjustice |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 30, 2022 |title=Instead of a Wall, a Binational Park To Be Built on Border of Texas & Mexico |url=https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/binational-park-texas-mexico |access-date=March 31, 2022 |website=Good Good Good |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 25, 2022 |title=Overland Partners to Design a 6.3-mile Park On the US–Mexico Border |url=https://www.archdaily.com/979045/overland-partners-to-design-a-mile-park-on-the-us-mexico-border |access-date=March 31, 2022 |website=ArchDaily |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Arizona container wall ==== thumb|The Arizona container wall.

In August 2022, Arizona governor Doug Ducey ordered the erection of a makeshift wall of shipping containers on the border with Mexico in Cochise County, Arizona. The construction began in the Coronado National Forest without authorization from the U.S. Forest Service, which operates the land. Ecologists at the Center for Biological Diversity argue that the construction, which imperils at-risk species including the ocelot and jaguar, violates the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and have sued to halt its construction.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Main |first=Douglas |date=December 7, 2022 |title=A rogue barrier threatens wildlife on Arizona border |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/illegal-border-barrier-threatens-wildlife-arizona-mexico-border |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207175246/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/illegal-border-barrier-threatens-wildlife-arizona-mexico-border |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 7, 2022 |access-date=December 9, 2022 |website=National Geographic |language=en}}</ref> Governor-elect Katie Hobbs stated that she would remove the containers after taking office,<ref>{{Cite web |last=del Bosque |first=Melissa |title=Gov. Ducey's Illegal Shipping Container Wall is Worse Than You Can Imagine |url=https://www.theborderchronicle.com/p/gov-duceys-illegal-shipping-container |access-date=December 9, 2022 |website=www.theborderchronicle.com |language=en |archive-date=December 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206171043/https://www.theborderchronicle.com/p/gov-duceys-illegal-shipping-container |url-status=live }}</ref> and the U.S. Justice Department sued the state to remove the containers and "compensate the [U.S.] for any actions it needs to take to undo Arizona's actions".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Romine |first=Taylor |date=December 14, 2022 |title=DOJ sues Arizona for placing shipping containers at the border |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/14/politics/doj-lawsuit-arizona-border-shipping-containers/index.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Deconstruction of the container wall had begun by January 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 4, 2023 |title=Arizona's makeshift border wall is coming down |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-64168681 |access-date=January 4, 2023}}</ref>

=== Second Trump administration (2025–present)=== {{See also|Immigration policy of the second Trump administration}} In January 2025, re-elected president Donald Trump pledged to finish the wall during his second term.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bustillo |first=Ximena |date=January 20, 2025 |title=Trump signs sweeping actions on immigration and border security on Day 1 |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/g-s1-43650/trump-inauguration-day-one-immigration |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rosenbaum |first1=Steven |last2=Candido |first2=Sergio |date=January 20, 2025 |title=President Trump pledges to expand border wall, praises Texas Gov. Greg Abbott |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/donald-trump-border-wall-expansion-texas-greg-abbott-inauguration/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=CBS News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hesson |first=Ted |date=November 12, 2024 |title=Trump's Day One: Deportations, border wall, scrapping Biden humanitarian programs |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-day-one-deportations-border-wall-scrapping-biden-humanitarian-programs-2024-11-12/ |access-date=January 21, 2025 |website=Reuters |language=en |archive-date=January 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124024512/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-day-one-deportations-border-wall-scrapping-biden-humanitarian-programs-2024-11-12/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2025, he declared a national emergency to direct the departments of State and Defense to resume construction of the wall.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Emergency at Southern Border Declared by President Trump |url=https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/national-emergency-at-southern-border-9381381/ |access-date=February 8, 2025 |website=JD Supra |language=en}}</ref>

President Trump initially utilized residual FY 2021 funds that were not spent by the Biden administration to continue work on the border wall. On March 15, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it had awarded the first border wall contract of President Trump’s second term to construct approximately seven miles of new border wall in Hidalgo County, Texas, within the U.S. Border Patrol’s (USBP) Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector. This contract was funded with CBP’s Fiscal Year 2021 funds.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=CBP awards first border wall contract of President Trump’s second term {{!}} U.S. Customs and Border Protection |url=https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-awards-first-border-wall-contract-president-trumps-second-term |access-date=2025-12-05 |website=www.cbp.gov |language=en}}</ref> On June 18, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection awarded its second contract for border wall construction for approximately 27 miles of new border wall in Santa Cruz County, Arizona located within the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector. This contract was funded with CBP’s fiscal year 2021 funds.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=DHS awards contract for 27 miles of new border wall in Arizona; issues waiver to accelerate construction in Texas {{!}} U.S. Customs and Border Protection |url=https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/dhs-awards-contract-27-miles-new-border-wall-arizona-issues-waiver |access-date=2025-12-05 |website=www.cbp.gov |language=en}}</ref> Additional contracts followed which used these previously appropriated funds.

On July 3, 2025, the Republican-controlled Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act which includes $46.5&nbsp;billion to complete construction of the wall on the United States–Mexico border, along with:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kim |first=Juliana |date=July 3, 2025 |title=How Trump's big beautiful bill aims to 'supercharge' immigration enforcement |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/07/03/g-s1-75609/big-beautiful-bill-ice-funding-immigration |access-date=July 4, 2025 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref>

* $17.3 billion to support state and local law enforcement with border enforcement.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=What's in the 2025 Reconciliation Bill So Far? |url=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/house-reconciliation-bill-immigration-border-security/ |access-date=July 4, 2025 |website=American Immigration Council |language=en-US}}</ref> * $10 billion to reimburse the Department of Homeland Security for costs related to border security.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pachico |first=Elyssa |date=July 1, 2025 |title=Congress Approves Unprecedented Funding for Mass Deportation |url=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/press-release/congress-approves-unprecedented-funding-mass-detention-deportation-2025/ |access-date=July 4, 2025 |website=American Immigration Council |language=en-US}}</ref> * $7.8 billion for hiring Border Patrol agents and vehicles, to hire 3,000 new agents.<ref name=":4" /> * $6.2 billion for border detection technology such as cameras, lights, and sensors.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rubin |first=April |date=July 3, 2025 |title=How the GOP spending bill will fund immigration enforcement |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/07/03/immigration-spending-increases-trump-big-beautiful-bill |access-date= July 4, 2025 |website=Axios |language=en}}</ref>

Border wall is being constructed in the areas of Tucson, Arizona,<ref name=":160">{{Cite web |title=Border wall construction surges ahead as illegal crossings plummet to historic lows |date=June 18, 2025 |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/border-wall-construction-surges-ahead-illegal-crossings-plummet-historic-lows |access-date=October 2, 2025 |work=Fox News |language=en}}</ref> and San Diego, California area.<ref name=":161">{{Cite web |title=Trump administration announces plans to build new sections of southern border wall |date=October 1, 2025 |url=https://www.kcra.com/article/trump-administration-new-sections-southern-border-wall/68162142 |access-date=October 2, 2025 |work=KCRA |language=en}}</ref>{{When|date=May 2026}} The administration contracted with Anduril, General Dynamics, and Elbit to install autonomous surveillance towers along the border.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staahl |first=Derek |date=2026-05-07 |title=New AI surveillance towers at US-Mexico border raise privacy concerns |url=https://www.azfamily.com/2026/05/07/new-ai-surveillance-towers-us-mexico-border-raise-privacy-concerns/ |access-date=2026-05-14 |website=AZFamily |language=en}}</ref> Over $2.5 billion in funding was awarded to construct floating barriers in the Rio Grande.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Pskowski |first=Martha |date=2026-03-23 |title=Feds plan to put 536 miles of floating barriers on Rio Grande |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/23/texas-border-rio-grande-buoys-federal-barrier-brownsville/ |access-date=2026-05-14 |website=The Texas Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> In June 2025, Department of Homeland Security permitted 36 miles of wall to be built across Arizona and New Mexico with additional wall barrier to be built following waivers of environmental regulations.<ref name=":160" /> In July 2025, the Pentagon shifted $200 million in funding originally allocated for projects including barracks, aircraft hangars and military-operated elementary schools to construct a wall along the Barry M. Goldwater Range.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lawrence |first=Drew F. |date=2025-07-29 |title=Pentagon Shifting $200 Million to Border Wall Project in Arizona |url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/07/28/pentagon-shifting-200-million-border-wall-project-arizona.html |access-date=2026-05-14 |website=Military.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":11" />

In October 2025, CBP awarded 10 construction contracts totaling $4.5 billion to construct 230 miles of barrier.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 10, 2025 |title=US awards $4.5 billion in border wall contracts, DHS says |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-awards-45-billion-border-wall-contracts-dhs-says-2025-10-10/ |access-date=2026-05-13 |work=Reuters}}</ref> As of mid-December 2025, United States Customs and Border Patrol was averaging two miles of wall installed per week, and it intended to increase this to 10 miles per week, according to CBP Chief Mike Banks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Giaritelli |first=Anna |date=2025-12-23 |title=Border Patrol chief says floating border wall is 'huge milestone' and coming soon |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/4355533/trump-administration-installing-500-mile-wall-buoys-southern-border-river/ |access-date=2026-03-01 |website=Washington Examiner |language=en-US}}</ref> In December 2025, DHS signed a $609 million contract with Parsons to oversee border wall construction.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-03-31 |title=The New “Smart” Border Wall Comes To Texas |url=https://texassignal.com/the-new-smart-border-wall-comes-to-texas/ |access-date=2026-05-14 |website=The Texas Signal |language=en}}</ref> The Department of Interior transferred 760 acres of public land near the border to the navy in December 2025 to establish a National Defense Area.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bekiempis |first=Victoria |date=2025-12-11 |title=Trump administration creates new militarized zone in California along southern US border |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/11/trump-militarized-zone-california-southern-us-border |access-date=2026-05-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In a May 2026 interview, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin stated that he expected the primary wall to be completed by April or June 2027, and the secondary wall to be completed before Trump left office.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |date=2026-05-07 |title=Map shows Trump's Pacific to Gulf of Mexico wall as DHS sets 2027 deadline |url=https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-trumps-pacific-to-gulf-of-mexico-wall-as-dhs-sets-2027-deadline-11924006 |access-date=2026-05-07 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref>

==Concerns and impacts== [[File:Border wall at Anapra.jpg|thumb|upright=2|This 2017 fence upgrade at Anapra was planned by the Obama administration.]] [[File:US Mexico Border Fence Construction (31467325507).jpg|thumb|Work on a higher replacement fence begins on a section of border fence near Calexico, California, United States, and Mexicali, Mexico, in 2018.]]

===Effectiveness=== Different sources draw different conclusions about the actual or likely effectiveness of the wall. Experts on the subject have said that aside from the human crossings, drugs, among other things, will still be making their way to the United States illegally.<ref name="Loiaconi">{{cite news|last=Loiaconi|first=Stephen|date=August 18, 2015|title=Experts: Trump's border wall could be costly, ineffective|url=https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/trumps-border-wall-could-be-costly-ineffective-experts-say|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207132951/https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/trumps-border-wall-could-be-costly-ineffective-experts-say|archive-date=February 7, 2019|access-date=April 1, 2021|work=WJLA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Felbab-Brown|first=Vanda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wE4zDwAAQBAJ&q=us-mexico+barrier&pg=PP4|title=The Wall: The Real Costs of a Barrier between the United States and Mexico|year=2017|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|isbn=978-0-8157-3295-2|language=en}}</ref> U.S. Customs and Border Protection has frequently called for more physical barriers on the Mexico–United States border, citing their efficacy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/01/11/684037990/border-patrol-makes-its-case-for-an-expanded-border-barrier|title=Border Patrol Makes Its Case For An Expanded 'Border Barrier'|date=January 11, 2019|newspaper=NPR|access-date=April 8, 2019|archive-date=April 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408141536/https://www.npr.org/2019/01/11/684037990/border-patrol-makes-its-case-for-an-expanded-border-barrier|url-status=live}}</ref> However, research at Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University indicated that the wall, and border walls in general, are unlikely to be effective at reducing illegal immigration or movement of contraband.<ref name="indy-bypass">{{cite news|url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-border-wall-mexico-us-illegal-undocumented-immigrants-research-a8783721.html|first= Josh|last= Gabbatiss|title= Trump's border wall will not work 'no matter how high', scientists warn|date= February 17, 2019|newspaper= The Independent|location= London|access-date= February 18, 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190218015228/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-border-wall-mexico-us-illegal-undocumented-immigrants-research-a8783721.html|archive-date= February 18, 2019|url-status= live}}</ref> By contrast, the ''American Economic Journal'' found that wall construction caused a 15–35% reduction in migration, varying with proximity to the barrier.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Feigenberg|first=Benjamin|date=July 3, 2020|title=Fenced Out: The Impact of Border Construction on US–Mexico Migration|journal=American Economic Journal: Applied Economics|language=en|volume=12|issue=3|pages=106–139|doi=10.1257/app.20170231|issn=1945-7782|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Critics of Trump's plan note that expanding the wall would not stop the routine misuse of legal ports of entry by people smuggling contraband, overstaying travel visas, using fraudulent documents, or stowing away.<ref>{{cite web |last=Da Silva |first=Chantal |author-link=Chantal Da Silva |date=January 18, 2019 |title=Visa overstays far exceed illegal border crossings in U.S. – and a wall won't change that, study says |url=https://www.newsweek.com/visa-overstays-far-exceed-illegal-border-crossings-us-and-wall-wont-change-1295413 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301074432/https://www.newsweek.com/visa-overstays-far-exceed-illegal-border-crossings-us-and-wall-wont-change-1295413 |archive-date=March 1, 2019 |access-date=February 28, 2019 |website=Newsweek}}</ref> They also point out that in addition to the misuse of ports of entry, even a border-wide wall could be bypassed by tunneling, climbing, or by using boats or aircraft.<ref name="indy-bypass"/><ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.wired.com/2017/01/wall-alone-cant-secure-border-no-matter-pays/|last= Newman|first= Lily Hay|date= January 19, 2017|title= A Wall Alone Can't Secure the Border, No Matter Who Pays for It|magazine= Wired|access-date= February 9, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180210003833/https://www.wired.com/2017/01/wall-alone-cant-secure-border-no-matter-pays/|archive-date= February 10, 2018|url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="sky-bypass">{{cite web|url= https://news.sky.com/story/donald-trumps-wall-and-the-myths-that-sustain-it-11613850|first= Hannah|last= Thomas-Peter|date= January 23, 2019|title= Sky Views: Donald Trump's wall, and the myths that sustain it|website= Sky News|access-date= February 22, 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190222151857/https://news.sky.com/story/donald-trumps-wall-and-the-myths-that-sustain-it-11613850|archive-date= February 22, 2019|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://www.wired.com/story/congress-spending-bill-wall-money-border-tech/|title= Trump's Wall Won't Solve a National Emergency. It Is One|first= Lily Hay|last= Newman|date= February 14, 2019|access-date= February 22, 2019|magazine= Wired|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200809173855/https://www.wired.com/story/congress-spending-bill-wall-money-border-tech/|archive-date= August 9, 2020|url-status= live}}</ref> Additionally, along some parts of the border, the existing rough terrain may be a greater deterrent than a wall.<ref name="Loiaconi" /> Trump reportedly suggested fortifying the wall with a water-filled trench inhabited by snakes or alligators, and electric fencing topped with spikes that can pierce human flesh.<ref>{{cite news |last1= Shear |first1= Michael D. |last2= Davis |first2= Julie Hirschfeld |title= Shoot Them in the Legs, Trump Suggested: Inside His Border War |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/politics/trump-border-wars.html |access-date= October 1, 2019 |work= The New York Times |date= October 1, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191001220059/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/politics/trump-border-wars.html |archive-date= October 1, 2019 |url-status= live |url-access= limited}}</ref>{{efn|In May 2011, after announcing that the planned border fence was "basically complete", President Barack Obama stated,

<blockquote>We have gone above and beyond what was requested by the very Republicans who said they supported broader reform as long as we got serious about enforcement. All the stuff they asked for, we've done. But&nbsp;... I suspect there are still going to be some who are trying to move the goal posts on us one more time. They'll want a higher fence. Maybe they'll need a moat. Maybe they want alligators in the moat. They'll never be satisfied. And I understand that. That's politics.<ref name=Farley20110516/></blockquote>}} The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has frequently called for more physical barriers, citing their efficacy. "I started in the San Diego sector in 1992, and it didn't matter how many agents we lined up," said Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott. "We could not make a measurable impact on the flow [of undocumented immigrants]<!--Bracketed by the source; do not change.--> across the border. It wasn't until we installed barriers along the border that gave us the upper hand that we started to get control."<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.npr.org/2019/01/11/684037990/border-patrol-makes-its-case-for-an-expanded-border-barrier|first= John|last= Burnett|title= Border Patrol Makes Its Case For An Expanded 'Border Barrier'|date= January 11, 2019|work= NPR|access-date= April 8, 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190408141536/https://www.npr.org/2019/01/11/684037990/border-patrol-makes-its-case-for-an-expanded-border-barrier|archive-date= April 8, 2019|url-status= live}}</ref> Carla Provost, the chief of U.S. border patrol, stated "We already have many miles, over {{convert|600|mile}} of barrier along the border. I have been in locations where there was no barrier, and then I was there when we put it up. It certainly helps. It's not a be-all end-all. It's a part of a system. We need the technology, we need that infrastructure."<ref>{{cite news|url= https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/401054-incoming-border-patrol-chief-border-wall-most-certainly-will-assist-securing|title= Border patrol chief: Wall will 'most certainly' help secure southern border|date= August 9, 2019|first= Julia|last= Manchester|newspaper= The Hill|access-date= April 8, 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190408141538/https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/401054-incoming-border-patrol-chief-border-wall-most-certainly-will-assist-securing|archive-date= April 8, 2019|url-status= live}}</ref>

Over the wall's first three years, Mexican smugglers sawed through the wall multiple times per day, usually with ordinary power tools, according to maintenance records from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The ''Washington Post'' reported "891 breaches during fiscal 2019, 906 during fiscal 2020, and 1,475 during fiscal 2021." The government patched these holes, spending approximately $800 per incident and often leaving visible evidence of the repair.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Miroff |first=Nick |date=March 2, 2022 |title=Trump's border wall has been breached more than 3,000 times by smugglers, CBP records show |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/02/trump-border-wall-breached/ |access-date=March 3, 2022 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=March 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303193018/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/02/trump-border-wall-breached/ |url-status=live }}</ref> One early report of this damage was in November 2019. People were sawing through steel bollards in areas where sensors to detect such breaches had not yet been installed.<ref name=smugglers>{{cite news |last1= Stracqualursi |first1= Veronica |title= Washington Post: Smugglers in Mexico are cutting through parts of Trump's border wall |url= https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/02/politics/smugglers-saw-through-trump-border-wall/index.html |access-date= November 2, 2019 |work= CNN |date= November 2, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191102194621/https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/02/politics/smugglers-saw-through-trump-border-wall/index.html |archive-date= November 2, 2019 |url-status= live }}</ref> Though Trump claimed it was "very easily fixed" by "put[ting] the chunk back in",<ref>{{cite news |last1= Vasquez |first1= Christian |title= Trump defends border wall design after report smugglers are sawing through it |url= https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/02/trump-smugglers-sawing-border-wall-064446?cid=apn |access-date= November 4, 2019 |work= Politico |date= November 2, 2019 |archive-date= November 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201125040114/https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/02/trump-smugglers-sawing-border-wall-064446?cid=apn |url-status= live }}</ref> border agents argued that smugglers tend to return to previously sawed wall because the bollards are weakened.<ref name=smugglers/>

In January 2020, a few wall panels under construction in Calexico, California, were blown over by strong Santa Ana winds before the poured concrete foundations cured. There was no other property damage or injuries as a result of the incident.<ref>{{cite web |title= Trump's wall: Winds blow over section of US–Mexico border fence |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51307868 |website= BBC News |access-date= January 30, 2020 |date= January 30, 2020 |archive-date= January 30, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200130122239/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51307868 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name="Wind_blown">{{cite news |last1=Fedschun |first1=Travis |title=Border wall section under construction falls over amid high winds in California |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/border-wall-under-construction-california-high-winds-santa-ana-falls-over |work=Fox News |date=January 30, 2020 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-date=November 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128055750/https://www.foxnews.com/us/border-wall-under-construction-california-high-winds-santa-ana-falls-over |url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 2020, the DHS published data indicating that the new border barrier has been effective at reducing the number of illegal border entries. The barrier also reduced ongoing manpower costs in at least one area in which it had been built.<ref>{{cite web |title= The Border Wall System is Deployed, Effective, and Disrupting Criminals and Smugglers |url= https://www.dhs.gov/news/2020/10/29/border-wall-system-deployed-effective-and-disrupting-criminals-and-smugglers |website= DHS.gov |access-date= December 1, 2020 |date= October 29, 2020 |archive-date= December 1, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201201001825/https://www.dhs.gov/news/2020/10/29/border-wall-system-deployed-effective-and-disrupting-criminals-and-smugglers |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Divided Indigenous land=== {{Main|Indigenous conflicts on the Mexico–United States barrier}}

Tribal lands of three American Indian reservations are divided by a proposed border fence.<ref name="indiancountry1">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927172521/http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411826 O'odham tell U.N. rapporteur of struggles] Indian Country, October 31, 2005</ref><ref name="wpost1">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/14/AR2006091401827.html As Border Crackdown Intensifies, A Tribe Is Caught in the Crossfire], ''Washington Post'', September 15, 2006</ref>

On January 27, 2008, a Native American (Indian) human rights delegation in the United States, which included Margo Tamez (Lipan Apache-Jumano Apache) and Teresa Leal (Opata-Mayo) reported the removal of the official International Boundary obelisks of 1848 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the Las Mariposas, Sonora-Arizona sector of the Mexico–U.S. border.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://narcosphere.narconews.com/node/2089|title=Nogales Residents Say US is Building Border Wall on Mexico's Land – the narcosphere|access-date=April 29, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506135608/http://narcosphere.narconews.com/node/2089|archive-date=May 6, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/summer/mexico-1.html|title=Monuments, Manifest Destiny, and Mexico|date=August 15, 2016|access-date=September 4, 2017|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128115856/https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/summer/mexico-1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The obelisks were moved southward approximately {{convert|20|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=1}}, onto the property of private landowners in Sonora, as part of the larger project of installing the {{convert|18|ft|m|adj=on}} steel barrier wall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/brenda-norrell/2008/02/nogales-residents-say-us-building-border-wall-mexicos-land |title=Nogales Residents Say US is Building Border Wall on Mexico's Land |publisher=Narcosphere.narconews.com |access-date=March 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515142401/http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/brenda-norrell/2008/02/nogales-residents-say-us-building-border-wall-mexicos-land |archive-date=May 15, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The proposed route for the border fence would divide the campus of the University of Texas at Brownsville into two parts, according to Antonio N. Zavaleta, a vice president of the university.<ref name="splitcampus">[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/20/us/20border.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin "Some Texans Fear Border Fence Will Sever Routine of Daily Life"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107055332/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/20/us/20border.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin |date=November 7, 2017 }}, ''New York Times'', June 20, 2007</ref> There have been campus protests against the wall by students who feel it will harm their school.<ref name="pbsnow" /> In August 2008, UT-Brownsville reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the university to construct a portion of the fence across and adjacent to its property. On August 20, 2008, the university sent out a request for bids for the construction of a {{convert|10|ft|m|adj=on}} high barrier that incorporates technology security for its segment of the border fence project. The southern perimeter of the UT-Brownsville campus will be part of a laboratory for testing new security technology and infrastructure combinations.<ref>[http://www.utb.edu/newsinfo/Pages/2008_08_20BorderFenceUpdate_RFP.aspx Bids Requested for Fence Upgrade] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930161238/http://www.utb.edu/newsinfo/Pages/2008_08_20BorderFenceUpdate_RFP.aspx |date=September 30, 2008 }} The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, August 20, 2008</ref> The border fence segment on the campus was substantially completed by December 2008.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sieff |first=Kevin |url=http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/fence_93152___article.html/fencing_work.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722130010/http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/fence_93152___article.html/fencing_work.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 22, 2012 |title=Friendly Fence |work=Brownsville Herald |date=December 12, 2008 |access-date= March 27, 2010 }}</ref>

The SpaceX South Texas launch site was shown on a map of the Department of Homeland Security with the barrier cutting through the {{convert|50 |acre|ha|adj=mid| facility}} in Boca Chica, Texas.<ref name="LAT 20190208">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-trump-wall-spacex-launch-site-20190208-story.html|title=Trump border wall could split SpaceX's Texas launchpad in two|last=Wasson|first=Erik|date=February 9, 2019|work=Bloomberg|via=Los Angeles Times|access-date=March 31, 2019|archive-date=March 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331181511/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-trump-wall-spacex-launch-site-20190208-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge === On August 1, 2018, the chief of the Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley sector indicated that although Starr County was his priority for a wall, Hidalgo County's Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge had been selected instead for initial construction, because its land was owned by the government.<ref name="delbosque" />

=== National Butterfly Center === The proposed border wall has been described as a "death sentence" for the American National Butterfly Center, a privately operated outdoor butterfly conservatory that maintains a significant amount of land north of the Rio Grande, but south of the wall's route.<ref name="gilbert">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/13/butterfly-sanctuary-border-wall-mission-texas|title='Death sentence': butterfly sanctuary to be bulldozed for Trump's border wall|last=Gilbert|first=Samuel|date=December 13, 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=December 18, 2018|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=September 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190914034132/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/13/butterfly-sanctuary-border-wall-mission-texas|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="foster-frau">{{cite web|url=https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Bulldozers-to-soon-plow-through-National-13447399.php|title=Bulldozers to soon plow through National Butterfly Center for Trump's border wall|last=Foster-Frau|first=Silvia|date=December 6, 2018|website=San Antonio Express-News|language=en-US|access-date=December 18, 2018}}</ref><ref name="delbosque">{{cite web|url=https://www.texasobserver.org/national-butterfly-center-staff-surprised-by-workers-with-chainsaws-prepping-trumps-border-wall/|title=National Butterfly Center Founder: Trump's Border Wall Prep 'Trampling on Private Property Rights'|last=del Bosque|first=Melissa|date=August 4, 2017|website=The Texas Observer|language=en-US|access-date=December 18, 2018|archive-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220061739/https://www.texasobserver.org/national-butterfly-center-staff-surprised-by-workers-with-chainsaws-prepping-trumps-border-wall/|url-status=live}}</ref> Filmmaker Krista Schlyer, part of an all-woman team creating a documentary film about the butterflies and the border wall, ''Ay Mariposa'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/2417384|title=''Ay Mariposa'' Film|website=Indiegogo|language=en|access-date=December 18, 2018}}</ref> estimates that construction would put 70% of the preserve habitat on the Mexican side of the border fence.<ref name="heimbuch">{{cite web|url=https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/blogs/this-all-women-film-team-taking-on-border-wall-behalf-endangered-wildlife|title=All-women film team takes on border wall on behalf of all at-risk wildlife|last=Heimbuch|first=Jaymi|date=December 11, 2018|website=Mother Nature Network|language=en|access-date=December 18, 2018}}</ref> In addition to concerns about seizure of private property by the federal government,<ref name="guerra">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/12/17/i-voted-trump-now-his-wall-may-destroy-my-butterfly-paradise/|title=I voted for Trump. Now his wall may destroy my butterfly paradise.|last=Guerra|first=Luciano|date=December 17, 2018|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=April 10, 2019|department=Perspective|archive-date=April 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408215032/https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/12/17/i-voted-trump-now-his-wall-may-destroy-my-butterfly-paradise/|url-status=live}}</ref> center employees have also noted the local economic impact. The center's director has stated that "environmental tourism contributes more than $450m to Hidalgo and Starr counties."<ref name="gilbert" />

In early December 2018, a challenge to wall construction at the National Butterfly Center was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. According to the ''San Antonio Express-News'', "the high court let stand an appeals ruling that lets the administration bypass 28 federal laws", including the Endangered Species Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.<ref name="foster-frau" /> Despite this, in 2019 Congress amended an existing appropiations bill, prohibiting new funding from being used in border wall construction at the center.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gibbons |first=Brendan |date=2019-02-14 |title=Butterfly Center, Chapel Spared in Bill Funding New Border Barrier in Rio Grande Valley |url=http://sanantonioreport.org/butterfly-center-chapel-spared-in-bill-funding-new-border-barrier-in-rio-grande-valley/ |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=San Antonio Report |language=en-US}}</ref> Following this, Trump declared a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States, which put into question the future of the center.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jeremy Schwartz Austin American-Statesman (TNS) |title=Documents: Border wall could impact 15 percent of Rio Grande refuge |url=https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/nation/documents-border-wall-could-impact-percent-of-rio-grande-refuge/article_5a6de66e-1fe1-581d-8bc0-66c538ac6391.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427160805/https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/nation/documents-border-wall-could-impact-percent-of-rio-grande-refuge/article_5a6de66e-1fe1-581d-8bc0-66c538ac6391.html |archive-date=2019-04-27 |access-date=2026-04-26 |work=Herald-Mail Media |language=en}}</ref> But then in May 24, 2019 a federal judge blocked the Trump administration's plan to divert funds not explicitly appropriated by Congress, which impeded further construction.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kendall |first=Brent |last2=Radnofsky |first2=Louise |date=2019-05-25 |title=Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Border-Wall Plans |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-border-wall-plans-11558747967 |access-date=2026-04-26 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

On February 13, 2026, the center was made aware by U.S. Customs and Border Protection that they were planning to access the property to build border wall through Hidalgo County, offering $1,000 as a right or entry. The agency also claims to be able to take the property via “eminent domain, in accordance with the Declaration of Taking Act<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-02-19 |title=Justice Manual {{!}} 5-15.000 - Land Acquisition Section {{!}} United States Department of Justice |url=https://www.justice.gov/jm/jm-5-15000-land-acquisition-section |access-date=2026-04-26 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}}</ref>“ if the offer is refused.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sanchez |first=Sandra |title=CBP: Border wall will go through National Butterfly Center |url=https://wgnradio.com/news/cbp-border-wall-will-go-through-national-butterfly-center/ |access-date=2026-04-26}}</ref>

===Mexico–U.S. relations=== {{See also|Mexico–United States relations}} [[File:US-Mexico barrier at Tijuana pedestrian border crossing.jpg|thumb|Mexico–United States barrier at the pedestrian border crossing in Tijuana|alt=Mexico–United States barrier at the pedestrian border crossing in Tijuana]] In 2006, the Mexican government vigorously condemned the Secure Fence Act of 2006. Mexico has also urged the U.S. to alter its plans for expanded fences along their shared border, saying that it would damage the environment and harm wildlife.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6924475.stm |title=US border fences 'an eco-danger' |work=BBC News |date=July 31, 2007 |access-date=March 27, 2010 |archive-date=July 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729211452/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6924475.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2012, Mexican presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto campaigned at the Plaza Monumental de Tijuana, less than {{convert|600|yd|m|sp=us}} from the U.S.–Mexico border adjacent to Border Field State Park. In one of his speeches, he criticized the U.S. government for building the barriers and asked for them to be removed, referencing President Ronald Reagan's "Tear down this wall!" speech from Berlin in 1987.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.cndls.georgetown.edu/projects/borders/exhibits/show/the-fence/political-implications|title=Borders {{!}} The Fence : The Semantics of a Border Barrier|website=apps.cndls.georgetown.edu|access-date=January 7, 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107072713/https://apps.cndls.georgetown.edu/projects/borders/exhibits/show/the-fence/political-implications |archive-date=January 7, 2019}}</ref>

In January 2017, President Donald Trump's signing of his Executive Order 13767 soured relations between the U.S. and Mexico. Mexican president Peña Nieto addressed Mexican citizens via a recorded message, in which he condemned the executive order and again said Mexico would not pay for the wall's construction. Following a Twitter feud between the two leaders in which Trump threatened to cancel a planned meeting with Peña Nieto in Washington, Peña Nieto decided to cancel the meeting himself.<ref>{{cite news|first=Azam|last=Ahmed|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/world/americas/mexico-pena-nieto-donald-trump.html|title=In a Corner, President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico Punches Back|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 26, 2017|url-access=limited|access-date=May 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420131941/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/world/americas/mexico-pena-nieto-donald-trump.html|archive-date=April 20, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Nieto2">{{cite news|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-trump-nieto-meeting-20170126-story.html|title=Mexican President Peña Nieto cancels trip to Washington|date=January 26, 2017|access-date=March 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111180618/https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-trump-nieto-meeting-20170126-story.html|archive-date=November 11, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the same time, while addressing supporters, Mexican opposition politician Andrés Manuel López Obrador condemned the wall order as an insult to Mexico and demanded the Mexican government pursue claims against the American government in the United Nations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.euronews.com/2017/01/26/calls-for-trump-to-face-un-lawsuit-over-mexico-border-wall|title=Calls for Trump to face UN lawsuit over Mexico border wall|date=January 26, 2017|work=Euronews|access-date=March 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402044259/https://www.euronews.com/2017/01/26/calls-for-trump-to-face-un-lawsuit-over-mexico-border-wall|archive-date=April 2, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2017, Mexican congressman Braulio Guerra of Querétaro illegally climbed, and partially crossed, an existing {{convert|30|feet|adj=on}} border fence on American soil dividing San Diego and Tijuana, saying that more walls would be ineffective.{{efn|In a video he can be heard to say: "I was able to scale it, climb it, and sit myself right here. It would be simple for me to jump into the United States, which shows that it is unnecessary and totally absurd to build a wall. It's easy, and it shows how unnecessary this project, this political rhetoric from Donald Trump, is".}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Caplan|first=David|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mexican-congressman-climbs-us-border-fence-illustrate-trumps/story?id=45877797|title=Mexican congressman climbs U.S. border fence to illustrate that Trump's wall is 'totally absurd'|date=March 3, 2017|website=ABC News|access-date=April 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417175708/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mexican-congressman-climbs-us-border-fence-illustrate-trumps/story?id=45877797|archive-date=April 17, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/03/05/arizona-lawman-challenging-president-trumps-border-wall/98492128/|title=The Arizona lawman challenging President Trump's border wall|work=USA Today|access-date=March 30, 2021|date=March 6, 2017|first=Kevin|last=Johnson|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105091340/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/03/05/arizona-lawman-challenging-president-trumps-border-wall/98492128/|archive-date=November 5, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Roman Catholic archbishop of Mexico opposed the border wall, and wrote that any Mexican company that participates in construction of the wall or supplies materials for construction would be committing "treason against the homeland".<ref>{{cite news|first=Abby|last=Hamblin|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/the-conversation/sd-trump-wall-mexico-treason-20170328-htmlstory.html|title=Mexican archdiocese: Build that wall, commit treason|newspaper=San Diego Union-Tribune|date=March 28, 2017|access-date=March 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103055802/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/the-conversation/sd-trump-wall-mexico-treason-20170328-htmlstory.html|archive-date=January 3, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/39dd443e3c8344b9af4e20a17cbc3a5f|title=Mexico's Catholic Church: Work on Trump wall is treason|website=AP News|date=March 26, 2017|access-date=April 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402002051/https://apnews.com/39dd443e3c8344b9af4e20a17cbc3a5f|archive-date=April 2, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Other international reactions=== At the annual summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in January 2017, representatives from Latin American and Caribbean countries condemned the wall proposal.<ref>{{cite news|first=Lucia|last=Newman|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/americas/2017/01/latin-america-leaders-condemn-trump-mexico-wall-celac-summit-170125171847714.html|title=Latin America leaders condemn Trump's Mexico wall at CELAC summit|website=Al Jazeera|date=January 26, 2017|access-date=April 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402002052/https://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/americas/2017/01/latin-america-leaders-condemn-trump-mexico-wall-celac-summit-170125171847714.html|archive-date=April 2, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded the plan, calling it a "Great idea." Netanyahu said "Trump is right" and likened the proposal to the Israeli West Bank barrier.<ref name="MexIsr">{{cite web|last=Booth|first=William|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/29/israels-netanyahu-applauds-trumps-plan-for-wall-mexico-not-pleased/|title=Israel's Netanyahu applauds Trump's plan for wall; Mexico not pleased|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 29, 2017|url-access=limited|access-date=January 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118093012/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/29/israels-netanyahu-applauds-trumps-plan-for-wall-mexico-not-pleased/|archive-date=January 18, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-pm-netanyahu-praises-trumps-plan-for-mexico-border-wall-1485634834|title=Israel PM Netanyahu Praises Trump's Plan for Mexico Border Wall|last=Jones|first=Rory|date=January 29, 2017|work=The Wall Street Journal|issn=0099-9660|url-access=subscription|access-date=January 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103004929/https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-pm-netanyahu-praises-trumps-plan-for-mexico-border-wall-1485634834|archive-date=January 3, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> After Mexican protests, the prime minister's office issued a statement saying that "[he] was addressing Israel's unique circumstances and the important experience we have and which we are willing to share with other nations. There was no attempt to voice an opinion regarding U.S.–Mexico ties."<ref name="MexIsr"/><ref>{{Cite news|author=<!--staff-->|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/facing-mexican-fury-israel-backtracks-on-trump-border-wall-praise/|title=Facing Mexico's fury, Israel backtracks on Trump border wall praise|work=The Times of Israel|date=January 29, 2017|access-date=October 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119120332/https://www.timesofisrael.com/facing-mexican-fury-israel-backtracks-on-trump-border-wall-praise/|archive-date=November 19, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Pope Francis was critical of the project, saying in a March 2019 interview: "If you raise a wall between people, you end up a prisoner of that wall that you raised."<ref>{{cite web |website=Crux (online newspaper) |title=Trump's border wall will make US a 'prisoner' of isolation, pope says |date=March 31, 2019 |url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/03/31/trumps-border-wall-will-make-us-a-prisoner-of-isolation-pope-says/ |first=Inés |last=San Martín |access-date=October 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604175309/https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/03/31/trumps-border-wall-will-make-us-a-prisoner-of-isolation-pope-says/ |archive-date=June 4, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> During his tenure he made references in several speeches, and in a tweet, to building "bridges, not walls".<ref>{{cite web|first1=Nicole|last1=Winfield|first2=Juan|last2=Zamorano|website=AP News|title=Pope in Panama blasts corruption, walls, prays for Venezuela|date=January 24, 2019|url=https://apnews.com/aad06e4ef33648a096423be76f7f8288|access-date=September 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416095530/https://www.apnews.com/aad06e4ef33648a096423be76f7f8288|archive-date=April 16, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=AP News|date=February 8, 2017|title=Pope repeats 'bridges not walls' after Trump travel ban|access-date=October 27, 2019|url=https://apnews.com/ca0a5faed3bd4aa5a458169e8cf147ff|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202191716/https://apnews.com/ca0a5faed3bd4aa5a458169e8cf147ff|archive-date=February 2, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |date=March 18, 2017 |author=Pope Francis |user=pontifex |number=843077028656136193|title=I invite you not to build walls but bridges, to conquer evil with good, offence with forgiveness, to live in peace with everyone.}}</ref>

International reactions include artistic and intercultural facilitation devices. Projects have included exhibitions, signs, and demonstrations as well as physical adaptations promoting socialization, such as a bright pink see-saw built through the wall that is accessible to people on both sides to enjoy together.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bakare|first=Lanre|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/30/pink-seesaws-reach-across-divide-us-mexico-border|title=Pink seesaws reach across the divide at US–Mexico border|website=The Guardian|date=July 30, 2019|access-date=October 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010095234/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/30/pink-seesaws-reach-across-divide-us-mexico-border|archive-date=October 10, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Migrant deaths === [[File:Border Wall at Tijuana and San Diego Border.jpg|thumb|The wall at the border of Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego; the crosses represent migrants who have died in crossing attempts.]] Between 1994 and 2007, there were around 5,000 migrant deaths along the Mexico–United States border according to a document created by the Human Rights National Commission of Mexico and signed by the American Civil Liberties Union.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 25, 2007 |title=Mueren cinco mil emigrantes en 13 años en frontera norte |url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/463596.html |website= |location= |publisher=El Universal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150116120518/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/463596.html |archive-date=January 16, 2015 |access-date=}}</ref> An April 2021 report by the University of Arizona's Binational Migration Institute said the remains of 3,356 migrants were found in Southern Arizona between 1990 and 2020.<ref name=Miroff20210603>{{cite web |last=Miroff |first=Nick |date=June 3, 2021 |title=Huge border influx brings fears of grim summer for migrant deaths |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/summer-migrant-deaths-southern-border/2021/06/03/a03d7bb8-c3a6-11eb-8c34-f8095f2dc445_story.html |website= |location= |publisher= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619074408/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/summer-migrant-deaths-southern-border/2021/06/03/a03d7bb8-c3a6-11eb-8c34-f8095f2dc445_story.html |archive-date=June 19, 2021 |access-date= October 17, 2025}}</ref>

Between 43 and 61 people died trying to cross the Sonoran Desert from October 2003 to May 2004, three times as of the same period the previous year.<ref name=NYT20040523/> In October 2004, the Border Patrol announced that 325 people had died crossing the entire border during the previous 12 months.<ref>{{cite web|date=November 7, 2004 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=20041107&id=jZY1AAAAIBAJ&pg=2742,14811862|title=Border deaths of illegal migrants cause concern |agency=Associated Press |publisher=Observer-Reporter |access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=January 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113040221/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=20041107&id=jZY1AAAAIBAJ&pg=2742%2C14811862|url-status=live}}</ref>

U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector reported on October 15, 2008, that its agents were able to save 443 illegal immigrants from certain death after being abandoned by their smugglers. The agents also reduced the number of deaths by 17%: from 202 in 2007 to 167 in 2008. Without the efforts of these agents, hundreds more could have died in the deserts of Arizona.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/archives/2008_news_releases/2008_fiscal/10152008_3.xml|title=CBP Border Patrol Announces Fiscal Year 2008 Achievements for Tucson Sector|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130154132/http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/archives/2008_news_releases/2008_fiscal/10152008_3.xml|archive-date=November 30, 2009}}</ref> According to the same sector, border enhancements like the wall have allowed the Tucson Sector agents to reduce the number of apprehensions at the borders by 16% compared with 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/archives/2008_news_releases/oct_2008/10152008_7.xml|title=Tucson Sector Makes Significant Gains in 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722010006/http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/archives/2008_news_releases/oct_2008/10152008_7.xml|archive-date=July 22, 2012}}</ref>

===Environmental impact=== {{See also|Environmental issues along the Mexico–United States border}} [[File:Herpailurus yagouaroundi cacomitli.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Shoulder high portrait of reddish brown cat with blue eyes and small round ears|The Gulf Coast jaguarundi is already threatened by extirpation.]]

In April 2008, the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to waive more than 30 environmental and cultural laws to speed construction of the barrier. Despite claims from then Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff that the department would minimize the construction's impact on the environment, critics in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, asserted that the fence endangered species and fragile ecosystems along the Rio Grande. Environmentalists expressed concern about butterfly migration corridors and the future of species of local wildcats, the ocelot, the jaguarundi, and the jaguar.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fence2apr02,0,5819252.story |title=Border fence will skirt environmental laws |work=Los Angeles Times |date=April 2, 2008 |access-date=March 27, 2010 |first1=Richard |last1=Marosi |first2=Nicole |last2=Gaouette |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414005257/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fence2apr02%2C0%2C5819252.story |archive-date=April 14, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.kob.com/investigative-news/border-wall-could-threaten-endangered-northern-jaguar-game-fish-department-us-wildlife/4432128/ Border Wall Could Threaten Northern Jaguar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113040219/https://www.kob.com/investigative-news/border-wall-could-threaten-endangered-northern-jaguar-game-fish-department-us-wildlife/4432128/ |date=January 13, 2021 }} July 5, 2017</ref>

By August 2008, more than 90% of the southern border in Arizona and New Mexico had been surveyed. In addition, 80% of the California–Mexico border has been surveyed.<ref name="cbp">{{cite web |url=http://www.cbp.gov/ |title=U.S. Customs and Border Protection |publisher=Cbp.gov |date=September 28, 2005 |access-date=March 27, 2010 |archive-date=October 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019021140/https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1550/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xMzg4MTY0NDU2L3NpZC81NzVyU1RJbA%3D%3D |url-status=live }}</ref> About 100 species of plants and animals, many already endangered, are threatened by the wall, including the jaguar, ocelot, Sonoran pronghorn, Mexican wolf, a pygmy owl, the thick-billed parrot, and the Quino checkerspot butterfly. According to Scott Egan of Rice University, a wall can create a population bottleneck, increase inbreeding, and cut off natural migration routes and range expansion.<ref>{{cite news|title=Border wall would put more than 100 endangered species at risk, says expert|newspaper=Phys.org|author=Ruth, David|date=August 3, 2017|url=https://phys.org/news/2017-08-border-wall-endangered-species-expert.html|publisher=Science X Network|access-date=August 4, 2017|archive-date=August 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806053425/https://phys.org/news/2017-08-border-wall-endangered-species-expert.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Greenwald">{{cite news|title=A Wall In the Wild|publisher=Center for Biological Diversity|author=Greenwald, Noah|display-authors=etal|url=http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/international/borderlands_and_boundary_waters/pdfs/A_Wall_in_the_Wild.pdf|date=May 2017|access-date=August 3, 2017|archive-date=July 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721211928/http://biologicaldiversity.org/programs/international/borderlands_and_boundary_waters/pdfs/A_Wall_in_the_Wild.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2008, a resolution "based on sound and accurate scientific knowledge" expressing opposition to the wall and the harmful impact on several rare, threatened, and endangered species, particularly endangered mammals such as the jaguar, ocelot, jaguarondi, and Sonoran pronghorn, was published by The Southwestern Association of Naturalists, an organization of 791 scientists specializing in the zoology, botany, and ecology of southwestern United States and Mexico.<ref>Southwestern Association of Naturalists (SWAN) 2008. [https://saon.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/SWAN_Border_Fence_Resolution.pdf Resolution on the US–Mexico Border Fence]</ref> A decade later, in 2018, well over 2500 scientists from 43 countries published a statement opposing the Border Wall, affirming it will have "significant consequences for biodiversity" and "Already-built sections of the wall are reducing the area, quality, and connectivity of plant and animal habitats and are compromising more than a century of binational investment in conservation."<ref>Peters, Robert et al. 2018. ''[https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/68/10/740/5057517 Nature Divided, Scientists United: US–Mexico Border Wall Threatens Biodiversity and Binational Conservation.]'' BioScience, 68 (10): 740–743.</ref>

An initial {{convert|75|mile|km|adj=on}} wall for which U.S. funding has been requested on the nearly {{convert|2000|mile|km|adj=on}} border would pass through the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge in California, the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge and Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge<ref>{{cite news|title=The ecological disaster that is Trump's border wall: a visual guide|date=July 26, 2017|first1=Eliza|last1=Barclay|first2=Sarah|last2=Frostenson|url=https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/4/10/14471304/trump-border-wall-animals|newspaper=Vox|publisher=Vox Media|access-date=August 6, 2017|archive-date=August 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807071726/https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/4/10/14471304/trump-border-wall-animals|url-status=live}}</ref> in Texas, Arizona's Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and Mexico's El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that the U.S. is bound by global treaty to protect.<ref>{{cite news|author=Uhlemann, Sarah|date=August 3, 2017|title=Commentary: Trump's border wall endangers wildlife refuges, World Heritage sites|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/sd-utbg-border-wall-wildlife-refuges-20170803-story.html|access-date=August 6, 2017|newspaper=San Diego Union Tribune|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111185647/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/sd-utbg-border-wall-wildlife-refuges-20170803-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The U.S. Customs and Border Protection plan to build the wall using the Real ID Act to avoid the process of making environmental impact statements, a strategy devised by Chertoff during the Bush administration. Reuters said, "The Real ID Act also allows the Secretary of Homeland Security to exempt CBP from adhering to the Endangered Species Act", which would otherwise prohibit construction in a wildlife refuge.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-borderwall-environment-idUSKBN1A62OL|title=Trump administration seeks to sidestep border wall environmental study: sources|author=Flitter, Emily|date=July 21, 2017|access-date=August 4, 2017|work=Reuters|publisher=Thomson Reuters|archive-date=August 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801173349/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-borderwall-environment-idUSKBN1A62OL|url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2026, over 30 federal laws were waived to construct floating barriers in the Rio Grande in Cameron County, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act.<ref name=":11" />

==Legal aspects== On September 12, 2017, the United States Department of Homeland Security issued a notice that Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke would be waiving "certain laws, regulations, and other legal requirements" to begin construction of the new wall near Calexico, California.<ref>{{Federal Register|82|42829}}</ref> The waiver allows the Department of Homeland Security to bypass the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Noise Control Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Antiquities Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://thinkprogress.org/border-barrier-waivers-f27e30362472/ | title=Homeland Security waives environmental review for California border project | last=Hand | first=Mark | work=Think Progress | date=September 12, 2017 | access-date=September 13, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912222108/https://thinkprogress.org/border-barrier-waivers-f27e30362472/ | archive-date=September 12, 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2020, two contractors who were employed by Sullivan Land Services Co. to provide security for wall construction filed a federal complaint alleging that the company and a subcontractor had performed illegal acts such as hiring undocumented workers, going "so far as to build a dirt road to expedite illegal border crossings to sites in San Diego, using construction vehicles to block security cameras", which was approved by an "unnamed supervisor at the Army Corps of Engineers".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hannon|first=Elliot|date=December 9, 2020|title=Whistleblowers Say Armed Mexicans Were Smuggled Into U.S. to Provide Security for Border Wall Construction|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/12/whistleblowers-armed-mexicans-smuggled-security-border-wall-construction.html|access-date=December 11, 2020|website=Slate Magazine|language=en|archive-date=December 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210113624/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/12/whistleblowers-armed-mexicans-smuggled-security-border-wall-construction.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Appropriations challenge=== {{main|Trump v. Sierra Club}}

Following Trump's executive order to proceed with the wall's construction in February 2019, two separate cases were filed in the United States District Court of the Northern District of California alleging that the Trump administration had overstepped its boundaries by authorizing funds to use to build the border wall without Congressional approval, citing the Congressional restrictions they had passed earlier in the month. One was filed by the state of California and 19 other states, while the other was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union for the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition. Both cases were heard together by Judge Haywood Gilliam.<ref name="trump v sierraclub nytimes 20190726"/>

On May 17, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice argued in court that, because Congress had not explicitly stated in an appropriations bill that "no money shall be obligated" for construction of the wall, the administration was free to spend funds that were not expressly appropriated for border security. Douglas Letter, the general counsel for the House of Representatives, responded, "That just cannot be right. No money may be spent unless Congress actually appropriates it."<ref>{{Cite news|first=Fred|last=Barbash|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-administration-tells-judge-congress-did-not-deny-border-wall-funds-when-it-declined-to-appropriate-money-for-it/2019/05/17/3018d35e-786d-11e9-b3f5-5673edf2d127_story.html|title=Trump administration tells judge Congress did not deny border wall funds when it declined to appropriate money for it|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 17, 2019|access-date=November 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718013745/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-administration-tells-judge-congress-did-not-deny-border-wall-funds-when-it-declined-to-appropriate-money-for-it/2019/05/17/3018d35e-786d-11e9-b3f5-5673edf2d127_story.html|archive-date=July 18, 2019|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref> On the following week, Gilliam granted a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from redirecting funds under the national emergency declaration issued earlier in the year to fund a planned wall along the border with Mexico. Gilliam ruled that "Congress's 'absolute' control over federal expenditures{{snd}}even when that control may frustrate the desires of the Executive Branch regarding initiatives it views as important{{snd}}is not a bug in our constitutional system. It is a feature of that system, and an essential one."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-border-wall-plans-11558747967|title=Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Border-Wall Plans|first1=Brent|last1=Kendall|first2=Louise|last2=Radnofsky|date=May 25, 2019|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|url-access=subscription|access-date=May 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525035009/https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-border-wall-plans-11558747967|archive-date=May 25, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The injunction applied specifically to some of the money the administration intended to allocate from other agencies, and limited wall construction projects in El Paso, Texas and Yuma, Arizona.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/24/us/judge-blocks-trump-border-wall.html |title=Federal Judge Blocks Part of Trump's Plan to Build Border Wall |last=Del Real |first=Jose A. |date=May 24, 2019 |website=The New York Times |language=en-US |access-date=May 25, 2019 |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525020148/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/24/us/judge-blocks-trump-border-wall.html |archive-date=May 25, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Gilliam's decision was temporarily upheld on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court on July 3, 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/9th-circuit-blocks-emergency-funding-for-border-wall-as-white-house-vows-appeal|title=9th Circuit blocks emergency funding for border wall, as White House vows appeal|last=Re|first=Gregg|date=July 3, 2019|work=Fox News|access-date=July 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704011842/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/9th-circuit-blocks-emergency-funding-for-border-wall-as-white-house-vows-appeal|archive-date=July 4, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

The U.S. Department of Justice petitioned the Supreme Court, and on July 26, 2019, the Supreme Court, in a 5–4 decision, issued a stay to Gilliam's ruling, allowing wall and related construction to proceed while litigation continues. The summary ruling from the majority indicated the groups suing the government may not have standing to challenge the executive order.<ref name="trump v sierraclub nytimes 20190726">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/us/politics/supreme-court-border-wall-trump.html|title=Supreme Court Lets Trump Proceed on Wall Plans Amid Legal Fight|first=Adam|last=Liptak|date=July 26, 2019|newspaper=The New York Times|url-access=limited|access-date=July 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726231254/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/us/politics/supreme-court-border-wall-trump.html|archive-date=July 26, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the plaintiffs will return to the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court.<ref name=diversion>{{cite web |last=Einbinder |first=Nicole |title=Money from a retirement program for the US military is set to be diverted to pay for Trump's border wall |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/military-retirement-program-could-lose-funding-trump-border-wall-2019-8 |website=Business Insider |access-date=August 2, 2019 |date=August 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801195950/https://www.businessinsider.com/military-retirement-program-could-lose-funding-trump-border-wall-2019-8 |archive-date=August 1, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=divert/> Rulings for both the states' and the environmental groups' cases were issued on June 26, 2020, with the Ninth Circuit affirming that the funds for constructing the wall were transferred illegally against the Appropriations Clause.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.courthousenews.com/trump-scheme-to-fund-border-wall-illegal-ninth-circuit-rules/ | title = Trump Scheme to Fund Border Wall Illegal, 9th Circuit Rules | first = Bianco | last = Bruno | date = June 26, 2020 | access-date = August 7, 2020 | work = Courthouse News | archive-date = March 11, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210311193748/https://www.courthousenews.com/trump-scheme-to-fund-border-wall-illegal-ninth-circuit-rules/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

The parties in the Sierra Club suit sought to have the Supreme Court lift their stay based on the Ninth's decision, but the Supreme Court refused to grant this on a 5–4 order on July 31, 2020, effectively allowing the wall construction to continue despite the decision of the Ninth; Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor dissented.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.courthousenews.com/supreme-court-allows-construction-of-trumps-border-wall-to-continue/ | title = Supreme Court Allows Construction of Trump's Border Wall to Continue | first = Nathan | last = Solis | date = July 31, 2020 | access-date = August 7, 2020 | work = Courthouse News | archive-date = March 11, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210311193748/https://www.courthousenews.com/supreme-court-allows-construction-of-trumps-border-wall-to-continue/ | url-status = live }}</ref> On August 7, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice petitioned the Supreme Court challenging the Ninth Circuit's ruling in both the California and Sierra Club cases on the questions of standing and the legality of the appropriations transfer.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1299866/trump-asks-justices-to-hear-2-5b-wall-fund-transfer-case|title=Trump Asks Justices To Hear $2.5B Wall Fund Transfer Case|website=Law360|date=August 10, 2020|access-date=August 17, 2020|url-access=subscription|archive-date=March 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311193756/https://www.law360.com/articles/1299866/trump-asks-justices-to-hear-2-5b-wall-fund-transfer-case|url-status=live}}</ref> On October 19, 2020, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear the case.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Barnes|first=Robert|date=October 19, 2020|title=Supreme Court to review Trump's border wall funding and 'remain-in-Mexico' program|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-remain-in-mexico-border-wall/2020/10/19/b592a658-120a-11eb-bc10-40b25382f1be_story.html|access-date=October 19, 2020|url-access=limited|archive-date=March 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311193734/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-remain-in-mexico-border-wall/2020/10/19/b592a658-120a-11eb-bc10-40b25382f1be_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The House of Representatives also filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the administration in 2019 for misappropriation of funds. U.S. district judge Trevor N. McFadden dismissed the lawsuit in June 2019, determining the House could not show damages and thus had no standing to sue.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/us/politics/trump-house-wall-lawsuit.html | title = Trump Wins Ruling in House's Border Wall Suit | first = Adam | last = Liptak | date = June 3, 2019 | access-date = October 10, 2020 | work = The New York Times | url-access = limited | archive-date = March 11, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210311193733/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/us/politics/trump-house-wall-lawsuit.html | url-status = live }}</ref> On appeal, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed, in September 2020, finding that expenditures made without the approval of the House of Representatives are an injury for which the House has standing to sue.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/518200-appeals-court-revives-house-lawsuit-against-trump-border-wall | title = Appeals court revives House lawsuit against Trump border wall | first = J. Edward | last = Morero | date = September 25, 2020 | access-date = February 14, 2021 | work = The Hill | archive-date = April 14, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210414233312/https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/518200-appeals-court-revives-house-lawsuit-against-trump-border-wall | url-status = live }}</ref>

The case was made moot with the cessation of construction and delegated to lower courts for any necessary further processing.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rowan|first=Nicholas|date=July 2, 2021|title=Supreme Court dumps border wall funding case|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/supreme-court-dumps-border-wall-funding-case|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Washington Examiner|language=en|archive-date=July 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702165034/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/supreme-court-dumps-border-wall-funding-case|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Environmental legal challenge=== In April 2017, the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, and U.S. representative Raúl Grijalva from Arizona, the ranking Democratic member on the House Committee on Natural Resources filed a lawsuit in federal court in Tucson. In their complaint, Grijalva and the Center argue that the government's wall construction plans fail to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, and seek to compel the government to carry out an environmental impact study and produce an environmental impact statement (EIS) before building the wall.<ref name="Carranza">{{cite news|first=Rafael|last=Carranza|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2017/04/12/donald-trumps-us-mexico-border-wall-faces-first-lawsuit/100379220/|title=Donald Trump's border wall faces first lawsuit|work=Arizona Republic|date=April 12, 2017|access-date=February 15, 2021|archive-date=July 2, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702093257/https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2017/04/12/donald-trumps-us-mexico-border-wall-faces-first-lawsuit/100379220/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CBD">{{cite press release|url=https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/border-wall-04-12-2017.php|title=Lawsuit Targets Trump's Border Wall, Enforcement Program|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505091806/https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/border-wall-04-12-2017.php|archive-date=May 5, 2019|publisher=Center for Biological Diversity|date=April 12, 2017|location=Tucson|access-date=February 15, 2021}}</ref> The lawsuit specifically seeks "to stop any work until the government agrees to analyze the impact of construction, noise, light and other changes to the landscape on rivers, plants and endangered species{{snd}}including jaguars, Sonoran pronghorns and ocelots{{snd}}and also on border residents".<ref name="Grijalva">{{cite news|first=Fernanda|last=Santos|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/us/no-environmental-impact-study-no-border-wall-lawsuit-says.html|title=No Environmental Impact Study? No Border Wall, Lawsuit Says|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 13, 2017|url-access=limited|access-date=January 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213171849/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/us/no-environmental-impact-study-no-border-wall-lawsuit-says.html|archive-date=February 13, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Two separate cases, also arguing about the government's failure to complete an EIS, were later filed, one by the groups the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and the second by California's Attorney General Xavier Becerra.<ref name="nbc sd eis case">{{cite web | url = https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/President-Trump-Faces-Legal-Challenge-on-Border-Wall-With-Mexico-473573643.html | title = Judge Delays Ruling on Environmental Lawsuit Against Border Wall Until Next Week | first = Eliot | last = Spagat | date = February 8, 2018 | access-date = December 3, 2018 | work=KNSD–NBC San Diego | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181204005605/https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/President-Trump-Faces-Legal-Challenge-on-Border-Wall-With-Mexico-473573643.html | archive-date = December 4, 2018 | url-status = live }}</ref>

The three lawsuits were consolidated into a single case within the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California by Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel.<ref name="nbc sd eis case"/> Oral arguments were heard in February 2018, and Curiel ruled by the end of the month in favor of the government, citing that the Department of Homeland Security has several waivers in its authorization to expedite construction of border walls, which includes bypassing the EIS statement. Curiel had written his opinion without consideration of the other political issues regarding the border wall, ruling only on the environmental impact aspect.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/27/politics/border-wall-ruling-curiel/index.html | title = Judge Curiel, once attacked by Trump, rules border wall can proceed | first = Tal | last = Kopan | date = February 28, 2018 | access-date = December 3, 2018 | work=CNN | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181014120416/https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/27/politics/border-wall-ruling-curiel/index.html | archive-date = October 14, 2018 | url-status = live }}</ref> The ruling was challenged to the U.S. Supreme Court by the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund, but the Court denied their petition for writ of ''certiorari'' by December 2018, allowing Curiel's decision to stand.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-border/us-supreme-court-turns-away-challenge-to-trumps-border-wall-idUSKBN1O21QI | title = U.S. top court snubs environmental challenge to Trump's border wall | first = Andrew | last = Chung | date = December 3, 2018 | access-date = December 3, 2018 | website=Reuters | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181204005717/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-border/us-supreme-court-turns-away-challenge-to-trumps-border-wall-idUSKBN1O21QI | archive-date = December 4, 2018 | url-status = live }}</ref>

===Eminent domain=== About two-thirds of the U.S.–Mexico border runs along private or state-owned lands, and the federal government would need to acquire such land through purchase or seizure (eminent domain) to build any border wall. The "process is likely to cost the government millions and could take years of complex litigation", as was the case for pre-existing border walls.<ref name="KopanQuiet">{{cite web |first=Tal |last=Kopan |date=November 13, 2017 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/13/politics/border-wall-eminent-domain/ |title=Trump admin taking quiet steps on seizing border land, report says |website=CNN |access-date=April 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128083452/https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/13/politics/border-wall-eminent-domain/index.html |archive-date=January 28, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> In his budget request to Congress, Trump requested funds for twenty U.S. Department of Justice lawyers "to pursue federal efforts to obtain the land and holdings necessary to secure the Southwest border".<ref>{{cite web |first=Priscilla |last=Alvarez |date=April 6, 2017 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/donald-trump-border-wall-eminent-domain/521958/ |title=Trump's Border Barrier Hits a Wall |work=The Atlantic |access-date=January 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119025404/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/donald-trump-border-wall-eminent-domain/521958/ |archive-date=January 19, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2017, he also revived condemnation litigation against land owners that had been dormant for years.<ref name="KopanQuiet"/> There are {{convert|162|miles}} of it in Southern Texas; {{convert|144|miles}} are privately owned. By December 2019, the Trump administration had acquired three miles (4.8 km).{{r|NYT 2019/12/26}}

===Religious freedom=== The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville has challenged the government's right to build part of the wall on the grounds of a historic chapel, La Lomita Chapel in Mission, Texas. At a hearing in McAllen, Texas, on February 6, 2019, U.S. district judge Randy Crane said the diocese must allow surveyors onto the grounds. It was said that if the government did not reconsider, then the diocese would plan to assert its rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a federal law which prohibits the government from placing a "substantial burden" on the practice of religion.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Yahoo! News |title=A tiny chapel – and a law beloved by evangelicals – might stand in the way of Trump's wall |date=February 12, 2019 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/church-uses-religious-freedom-restoration-act-to-contest-trumps-new-wall-section-221341325.html |first=David |last=Knowles |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111171613/https://news.yahoo.com/church-uses-religious-freedom-restoration-act-to-contest-trumps-new-wall-section-221341325.html |archive-date=November 11, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Mary McCord, a Georgetown University ICAP attorney representing the diocese, "a physical barrier that cuts off access to the chapel, and not only to Father Roy and his parish but those who seek to worship there, is clearly a substantial burden on the exercise of religious freedom."<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Progress Times |date=February 6, 2019 |title=Judge says Catholic Church must allow access to La Lomita Chapel property for border wall survey |url=https://www.progresstimes.net/news/local-news/12404-judge-says-catholic-church-must-allow-access-to-la-lomita-chapel-property-for-border-wall-survey.html |first=Dave |last=Hendricks |access-date=April 27, 2019 |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125040123/https://www.progresstimes.net/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Polling == {{Expand section|date=April 2024}} A Rasmussen Reports poll from August 19, 2015, found that 51% supported building a wall on the border, while 37% opposed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Voters Want to Build A Wall, Deport Felon Illegal Immigrants |url=https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/august_2015/voters_want_to_build_a_wall_deport_felon_illegal_immigrants |website=rasmussenreports.com |access-date=February 18, 2022 |date=August 19, 2015 |archive-date=February 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218150426/https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/august_2015/voters_want_to_build_a_wall_deport_felon_illegal_immigrants |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a January 2017 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 39% of Americans identified construction of a U.S.–Mexico border wall as an "important goal for U.S. immigration policy". The survey found that while Americans were divided by party on many different immigration policies, "the widest [partisan split] by far is over building a southern border wall. Two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (67%) say construction of a wall on the U.S.–Mexico border is an important goal for immigration policy, compared with just 16% of Democrats and Democratic leaners."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/06/less-than-half-the-public-views-border-wall-as-an-important-goal-for-u-s-immigration-policy/|title=Less than half the public views border wall as an important goal for U.S. immigration policy|date=January 6, 2017|first=Rob|last=Suls|website=Pew Research Center|access-date=January 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128030451/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/06/less-than-half-the-public-views-border-wall-as-an-important-goal-for-u-s-immigration-policy/|archive-date=January 28, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

A February 2017 Pew Research Center study found that "As was the case throughout the presidential campaign, more Americans continue to oppose (62%) than favor (35%) building a wall along the entire U.S. border with Mexico."<ref name="Feb2017Pew">{{Cite news|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/24/most-americans-continue-to-oppose-u-s-border-wall-doubt-mexico-would-pay-for-it/|first=Rob|last=Suls|title=Most Americans continue to oppose U.S. border wall, doubt Mexico would pay for it|website=Pew Research Center|date=February 24, 2017|access-date=January 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128030415/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/24/most-americans-continue-to-oppose-u-s-border-wall-doubt-mexico-would-pay-for-it/|archive-date=January 28, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> 43% of respondents thought a border wall would not have much impact on illegal immigration, while 54% thought it would have an impact (29% thought it would lead to a major reduction, 25% a minor reduction).<ref name="Feb2017Pew"/> 70% of Americans thought the U.S. would ultimately pay for the wall; 16% believed Mexico would pay for it.<ref name="Feb2017Pew"/> Public opinion was polarized by party: "About three-quarters (74%) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents support a border wall, while an even greater share of Democrats and Democratic leaners express opposition to building a wall across the entire U.S.–Mexico border (89%)."<ref name="Feb2017Pew"/> Younger Americans and Americans with college degrees were more likely to oppose a wall than older Americans and those without college degrees.<ref name="Feb2017Pew"/>

A survey conducted by the National Border Patrol Council found that 89% of border patrol agents said a "wall system in strategic locations is necessary to secure the border". 7% of agents disagreed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/apr/2/border-patrol-agents-back-trump-wall-survey-finds/|title=Border Patrol agents overwhelmingly support Trump's wall in new survey|newspaper=The Washington Times|access-date=April 2, 2019|date=April 2, 2018|first=Stephen|last=Dinan|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402042837/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/apr/2/border-patrol-agents-back-trump-wall-survey-finds/|archive-date=April 2, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

A poll conducted by CBS on June 21 and 22, 2018, found that 51% supported the border wall, while 48% opposed.<ref>{{cite web |title=CBS Poll: 51% Of Americans Support Border Wall, Major Support For Family Deportations |url=https://abcstlouis.com/news/nation-world/cbs-poll-51-of-americans-support-building-or-trying-to-build-border-wall/ |website=abcstlouis.com |access-date=February 17, 2022 |date=June 25, 2018 |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217201806/https://abcstlouis.com/news/nation-world/cbs-poll-51-of-americans-support-building-or-trying-to-build-border-wall |url-status=live }}</ref> A poll conducted by the Senate Opportunity Fund in March 2021 found that 53% supported finishing construction of the border wall, while 38% opposed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Support for border wall surges as border crisis intensifies |website=The Washington Times |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/mar/23/support-border-wall-surges-border-crisis-intensifi/ |access-date=February 17, 2022 |date=March 23, 2021 |archive-date=February 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218015525/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/mar/23/support-border-wall-surges-border-crisis-intensifi/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also == {{Portal|Architecture|Politics|Mexico|United States}} {{div col|colwidth=23em}} * Border barrier * Border control * Canada–United States border * E-Verify * Immigration reform in the United States * Mexico–United States border * Mexico–United States border crisis * Open border * Operation Intercept * Roosevelt Reservation * Tortilla Wall * United States Border Patrol interior checkpoints {{div col end}}

== References == '''Footnotes''' {{notelist}}

'''Citations''' {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == * Chaichian, Mohammad. 2014. ''Empires and Walls: Globalization, Migration, and Colonial Domination'' (Brill, pp. 175–235) {{ISBN?}} * {{cite web |url=https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33659.html |title=Border Security: Barriers Along the U.S. International Border |website=Congressional Research Service}} * {{cite web |last=Gerstein |first=Josh |title=Supreme Court gives Trump go-ahead on border wall |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/26/trump-border-wall-supreme-court-1437894 |website=Politico |date=July 26, 2019}} * [https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/cost-of-border-wall The High Cost and Diminishing Returns of a Border Wall]

== External links == {{Commons category|Mexico–United States border wall}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20250127070127/https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/along-us-borders/border-wall-system Border Wall System] CBP.gov * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160305082500/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160304-us-mexico-border-fence-wall-photos-immigration/ This Is What the U.S.–Mexico Border Wall Actually Looks Like]. National Geographic Society * [https://www.business-of-migration.com/migration-today/us-mexico-barriers/ US–Mexico Border Barriers, Historical Timeline and Summary Statistics]

{{Immigration to the United States}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mexico-United States Barrier}} Category:Mexico–United States border wall Category:Anti-immigration politics in the United States Category:Border barriers Category:Fortifications in the United States Barrier Category:1994 establishments in Mexico Category:1983 establishments in the United States