Border-wall Update: Construction Underway; 1,200 Miles Planned

Armed with a record amount of congressionally appropriated funding, the Trump administration is ramping up border-wall construction along the U.S. border with Mexico.

According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), as of mid-August 2026, about 365 miles of primary border wall, 58 miles of replacement border wall, and 423 miles of secondary border wall either are now under construction or have been completed since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. Additionally, according to a report by The New York Times, CBP has awarded $33 billion in construction contracts for other sections of primary border wall. About 644 miles of primary border wall and 75 miles of secondary border wall existed in January 2025.

Altogether, the Trump administration plans to complete 1,200 miles of new primary and secondary border wall, as well as hundreds of miles of vehicle barriers, roads and technology, buoy barriers, and replacement border wall. According to the Times, administration officials are aiming to finish primary-wall construction by the end of 2027, and secondary-wall construction by July 2028.

CBP describes the border-barrier system as a “smart wall,” consisting of “a combination of primary and secondary steel bollard wall, waterborne barriers, patrol roads, and the technology required to tie it all together, such as cameras, lights, and other detection technology.” The growing use of technology comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies increasingly deploy surveillance technology that could potentially be used against American citizens.

Funding

This massive building spree is funded by $46.5 billion included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), which Congress enacted last year. According to the Times, this funding “is more than all border wall funding combined over the past 20 years,” and “can be spent through September 2029.” Additionally, the Secure America Act (S. 2), which Congress enacted in June, included $3.45 billion for border-security operations and technology.

During Trump’s first term, his administration completed about 450 miles of border wall, most of which replaced existing — and often inferior — border barriers. Back then, though, Trump relied on funding that his administration redirected from other sources.

Only One Part of Border Security

Although the current border-wall construction is certainly a positive development, it is only one step toward securing America’s borders. For example, although arrests by ICE rose earlier this year and the administration has taken other actions to restrict migration — including revoking more than 175,000 visas and tightening asylum and public-benefits rules — the number of deportations continues to lag behind the administration’s goal.

Congress Is the Key

Additionally, Congress must do its part to stop mass migration. For example, it should enact watertight asylum and removal laws that would ease the process of cracking down on illegal migration and prevent manipulation by a future leftist administration or the judiciary. Related to this, the U.S. government must withdraw from various UN agreements, such as the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees and the UN Convention Against Torture, to further prevent illegal aliens from abusing U.S. asylum laws.

Congress must enact clearer immigration laws. Many of the federal government’s existing laws are vaguely written and explicitly delegate congressional power to the president in violation of Article I, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, explaining why presidential administrations can implement massive shifts in public policy without congressional action. Along with this, Congress must repeal pro-mass-migration laws such as the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, Refugee Act of 1980, Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and Immigration Act of 1990.

Americans must urge their U.S. representative and senators, as well as their state legislators, to take bold action to end mass migration.

This article is part of The New American’s weekly online newsletter Insider Report, which is emailed to TNA subscribers each week. Click here to subscribe to The New American to receive the Insider Report and access exclusive content.