Border Wall

What Is Happening with The Border Wall? Here’s Everything You Need to Know So Far

President Trump has made the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border a cornerstone of his presidency. To date, not a single mile of new barriers has been erected. But the Trump administration continues to aggressively pursue new avenues to fund this project outside of the traditional federal appropriations process, including the president’s declaration of a national emergency.

Judge David Briones in Texas issued a ruling last week that will prevent the president from using certain Department of Defense (DoD) funds to construct new barriers along the border.

This is one of eight lawsuits filed in federal court to challenge the border wall. Most argue that Trump’s national emergency is an illegal maneuver to release funding for the wall by circumventing Congress.

The administration has made multiple requests for federal funding, despite Congress’ repeated refusal and clear evidence that a wall is an unnecessarily expensive and inefficient enforcement measure to address unauthorized migration.

In 2017, the administration requested $999 million to fund the “first installment” of President Trump’s wall. That year, the Republican-controlled Congress provided the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with $341 million to replace around 40 miles of existing barriers.

The next year, the administration asked for $1.6 billion for 74 miles of new barriers. Congress responded by providing approximately $1.6 billion for replacement fencing and additional security technology.

In 2019, the president requested $5.7 billion for the construction of a steel barrier. Following the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Congress provided $1.4 billion for the construction of pedestrian fencing in South Texas.