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“It’s so hard to get a clear picture of how much...”

40 miles worth were appropriated in FY 2017 are now done (14 mile San Diego Primary, 4 miles downtown El Paso, 2 miles in Calexico, and 20 miles running West from El Paso. All had some kind of previous barrier that was so ineffective, that they were among the most heavily crossed/trafficked areas.

80 miles were appropriated for FY 2018, and they are now starting construction. That includes the first segments where there was no barrier previously (~25 miles in the Rio Grande Valley).

Congress appropriated money for 55 more miles in the Rio Grande Valley for FY 2019, where basically none existed before. The President then declared an emergency, and identified about $8 billion - enough to build a few hundred miles (but did not specify where, like appropriations do). The first of those projects (Yuma, AZ; and a 46 mile run in New Mexico, continuing the piece built West from El Paso) are ready to break ground, but pending some legal rulings.

Altogether, the Border Patrol/DHS plan for full operational control of the border calls for about 1,100 miles of barrier (mostly replacement), thousands of additional personnel, and several technology programs - $25 billion over five years.

Barrier is being installed by priority - where it will make the biggest difference. Most of those areas have always been hot spots (e.g. border cities), and had some kind of barrier. The main area that needs barrier but has none are the Rio Grande Valley and Laredo areas of South Texas, where many factors made it much more difficult (changing river path, ratified International Treaty, flood control, many small property holders, and not included in the Roosevelt Reservation for Federal use). They need about 150 miles total, about half of which was appropriated between 2018 and 2019.

The bottom line is that the first 100 miles on the priority list will make a dramatically larger impact on traffic flows, than will the last 100 miles on the list. The Trump Administration is seeking to get about 400-500 miles worth built or on contract by the 2020 election, which would button up where the bulk of traffic now passes.

(Another) Bottom Line is that we started off slow while all the plans and prep were underway, but this year are entering full scale deployment. If the money is freed up from the lawsuits, we should be approaching a total rate of around a half mile of new barrier per day by the end of the year.

The most important miles first, with top of the line wall system (barrier, patrol road, lights, cameras, sensors, alarms).