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“How much of that 121 completed miles was new, and how much was replacement?”

It depends on what you want to count. For example, we are building secondary barrier where there was only a single primary barrier before, but some folks would not count that as “new” (it can’t really count as “replacement” either). But it is what is needed, to stop the flow through that area.

They are working down an objective priority list, closing the biggest flows first, regardless of whether something ineffective is there or not. Of the 654 miles of assorted barriers that existed when President Trump took office, only 221 are assessed as effective (although needing technology upgrades). All the rest will need to be replaced, and it is mostly in high priority areas, with high illegal crossing rates. So after those 433 miles are replaced. it would seem that all the rest would be new - except for those people (like left wing media, seeking to disparage the effort) who refuse to count secondary barrier at all.

Most places where lots of people cross, are those places where they always have - the border cities and the Rio Grande Valley. The border cities have long had some kind of barrier, however ineffective it may have been, so the only really high priority areas without any barrier is the Rio Grande Valley (RGV).

Around 2-3 totally new miles, where nothing at all man made previously existed, have been built around Fronton, Texas, in the RGV. So out of the 121 miles completed, that is the purest measure of “new” (probably 5-10 new miles, if you count new runs of secondary barrier).

A bit over 100 miles in the RGV have been awarded on contract, and are just entering construction, so every week from here on out, more “purely new” barrier will be added.

A second RGV project has been underway near Donna Texas, but that is the massive FEMA Hurricane certified flood control Levee Wall System. That kind of dual use barrier is very slow to construct, and most of the low lying areas East of McAllen, Texas will be getting that kind.

The rest of the RGV projects have been awarded on contract, and land acquisition issues have been the general delay. About 400 different sets of private owners have to be settled with, or served notice of taking under eminent domain. In several cases, property ownership goes back to Spanish land grants, and ownership is shared among many poorly documented descendants. Those legal actions began accelerating in December 2019, and construction in the RGV is expected to ramp up throughout this year.

So a larger percentage of the 218 miles under construction are totally “new”, because we are getting to the RGV.

Out of the total 753 miles, the percentage of totally “new” miles keeps going up, as we go down the priority list. Ultimately, the extensive analysis in the Comprehensive Plan for Full Operational Control of the Southern Border identifies a need for about 1,100 miles of barrier. So in the end, as much as roughly 2/3 might end up being “new”.

The administration does not accept the criteria of “new’ vs. “replacement” as being significant - only which area needs it most based on actual traffic. They view all new construction as new wall, and the Border patrol Chief does not report regular updates on that distinction, because it is operationally insignificant.

“I’d like to know a timeline for completion.”

The schedule now is aiming for about 450 miles completed, by the end of President Trump’s first term (Jan 2021). The first 300-400 miles on the priority list account for over 80% of illegal traffic, so significant operational impacts will be seen from that.

The bigger picture, is that they intend to contract for essentially the whole barrier program (the 1,100 mile Program), and obligate the funds, before the end of President Trump’s first term.

A second large transfer of DoD funds (from Military Construction accounts) has been planned and announced, but not yet formally approved and transferred by DoD. That will bring the total funded miles in the program to 885. Along with the 221 miles of pre-existing barrier that is usable, we would have about 1,100.

Although completing construction on those contracts would extend through 2021 and into early 2022, it would be the responsibility of bonded and insured contractors to deliver on their contract commitments - the Government’s work of funding and contracting would be done. When Obama took office, he put an immediate halt on new contract awards under the Bush era Secure Fence Act Program - but contracts that had already been awarded, with obligated funding on hand, continued through to delivery.

Although the Comprehensive Plan does not identify a need for barrier at every point along the border, it does require persistent surveillance, and appropriate intercept capability, for every mile of the border (barrier or not). Several technology Programs are deploying now, to provide that improved detection and tracking capability - faster than barrier is rolling out.