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“How much new and how much is replacement?”

Most of the places that need barrier the most (like border cities), already have something.

What really matters for effectiveness, is what miles need it most. No sense in building a “new mile” out in the wilderness, when illegals and drugs are streaming through an “existing” mile in a border City, or the Rio Grande Valley.

The Border Patrol has exhaustively analyzed where barrier is most needed, to justify the budget request to Congress, and produced a priority list based on actual traffic, and other operational concerns (like attacks on Officers).

The main area where “new” miles are seriously needed, is the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. That is by far the most difficult and most expensive area to build barrier, and that is why there still exists high traffic areas with no previous barrier whatsoever.

In California, Arizona and New Mexico; the “Roosevelt Reservation” secured the right of way for the entire length of the Mexican Border. Texas was not included, and the Rio Grande area has about 400 private landowners in the path of the planned wall, and many more who would be on the South side of it.

Because of the shifting path of the river, and its seasonal flooding (also subject to hurricanes off the Gulf of Mexico); and the fact that construction which could effect floodwaters must be approved under a ratified International treaty, barrier down there ends up on top of the flood levees, which can be over a mile North of the river in some places, because of local elevation, relative to the high water mark.

Because of the hurricane requirement, levee wall down there requires truly deep and massive concrete foundations, driving costs up around $25 million per mile (some simple miles in flat desert West of El Paso cost only $4 million per mile in 2017).

More than 100 miles of heavily vegetated river bank down there, where illegal traffic is high (40% of the illegal immigrant total for the whole border) have no pre-existing barrier.

On 27 July, DHS opened a 30 day public comment period, for their barrier building plans with this year’s (FY2019) funding in the Rio Grande Valley. The maps they released, show that they intend to contract the great majority of what is currently open in the Rio Grande Valley, with this year’s funds.

So that would be almost 100 “new” miles. Five contracts have already been awarded recently in the Valley, for assorted segments, and more are on the way this Fall. Site preparations and materials delivery have already begun in some places. By Christmas, several simultaneous crews should be up to full speed in the Valley - all building “new” miles.

Outside of the Rio Grande Valley, “new” miles will typically just be small segments where the terrain was a little too rough for them to build in the past. An example is San Diego’s Secondary Barrier. The old secondary had a 1 1/2 mile gap, while the new secondary will be continuous from the Ocean to the mountains. So that effort, which is well underway (about half done, completion due in January), will have 1 1/2 “new” miles. The extensive grading and clearing required to fill that gap (which will be lighted, heavily alarmed, monitored by camera, and have improved road) is going to make the “Wall System” even more effective, than bollards alone might suggest.

About 1,100 miles of total barrier building is envisioned in the comprehensive border security plan. After the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo Sector significantly needs “new” barrier. Most of the rest of the “new” miles, will be clustered toward the bottom of the priority list.