USA TODAY International Edition
How a border fence became a wall
Not much has changed despite proclamations
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched a new webpage Wednesday titled “Walls Work.”
The four-page document stresses that, under President Donald Trump, federal officials are committed to “building wall and building wall quickly.”
It promises that DHS will be able to erect an additional 330 miles of barrier if Congress approves Trump’s $5 billion funding request. “Under this president, we are building a wall that is 30-feet high,” DHS asserts. “FACT: Prior to President Trump taking office, we have never built wall that high.”
But the structures now being erected do not meet the definition of a wall used by Trump during his campaign, or by DHS in seeking wall prototypes.
And the new construction doesn’t add mileage to the border-security system. The projects completed so far — segments of 2.25 miles, 20 miles, 14 miles and 4 miles — build fences that replace older fences.
In 2017, the USA TODAY Network flew, observed and mapped every mile of the U.S.-Mexico border and its existing fencing, a project that took months.
Now, the total number of miles with fencing has not changed. Nearly all of the barriers built replaced old structures or provided an additional layer of security. But DHS now usually refers to the fences as walls.
On Tuesday, the president tweeted that much of his “great wall” already has been built, and the border “is now secure and will remain that way.”
The conflicting statements about continue. The full survey of the border and reporting help put them in context.
How much border was fenced?
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border had 354 miles of fences designed to inhibit foot travelers at the beginning of 2016.
An additional 300 miles of vehicle barriers were in place, built mostly under two previous presidents.
How much of the border is fenced or walled today?
The USA TODAY Network survey of the U.S.-Mexico line — by helicopter and on the ground — confirmed the federal numbers. The results can be seen in the map and video from the report “The Wall.”
Less than one-third of the border has a security fence of any kind. Much of the 2,000-mile expanse is remote and treacherous desert, jagged mountains and impassable river canyons.
More than a year after that report, the border still has roughly 654 miles of pedestrian and vehicle barriers. There are no “walls” as defined by the president before he took office. Instead, fencing has been built, taller than fencing it replaced in the same spots.
Is the border secure today?
The president tweeted Tuesday that “people have yet to get through our newly built walls,” adding that the border “is now secure and will remain that way.”
According to DHS records, more than 396,000 people were arrested entering the United States without documents this fiscal year. It is unknown how many made it through, avoiding apprehension.
When Trump took office, Border Patrol arrests were at the lowest they’d been in four decades. Illegal crossings continued to drop during his first year, then surged higher in fiscal 2018.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 857,000 pounds of marijuana from smugglers last year, plus 15,182 pounds of heroin. No one knows how much narcotics got through.
The “Walls Work” page focuses on a more recent incident, in which people from a caravan of Central American migrants protested at the border fence in Tijuana. When some people broke through the fence, officers fired tear gas at the crowd. (Officials later said 42 people were apprehended after getting through the fence.)
What’s the distinction between a fence and a wall?
During the presidential campaign, Trump was emphatic about the difference. He said he was not going to have a barrier like the existing fence, “which is either nonexistent or a joke.” Instead, he promised a “big, beautiful wall” that would be 30 feet high.
At the administration’s request, wall prototypes were erected near San Diego. Design specification required walls over 20 feet tall, with features making them insurmountable and impenetrable.
All eight submissions were later deemed deficient in a federal review.
How much new fence has gone up?
DHS reports total construction of 31 miles of barriers so far, in four segments that replace or back up old fences. The department says by the end of fiscal year 2019 it expects to have 120 additional miles completed or under construction.
It is unclear if any of the new barriers will be of a wall design as outlined by DHS when prototypes were sought.
Are the new fences different?
For the most part, no. However, there is one exception: DHS built a 2-mile segment of replacement barrier near El Centro that is 30 feet tall. The structure features the same steel posts, known as bollards, as older fences, but those are only 12 to 18 feet high.
Where will building occur?
With funds budgeted in 2017, segments are underway or have been completed near El Paso, San Diego and El Centro.
DHS says it is awaiting money to build more barriers in “highest priority locations” in southwest Arizona, plus five areas along the border in in Texas and California.