Posted on 10/13/2025 8:42:33 PM PDT by BeauBo
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on October 10 that the administration had approved nearly $4.5 billion for hundreds of miles of “smart wall” along the southern border...
...The agencies awarded 10 contracts in late September, adding nearly 400 miles of new security technology and 230 miles of “smart wall,” according to the release. The new wall segments will reinforce areas where the Biden administration had previously canceled contracts, adding lights, cameras, advanced detection systems, steel and waterborne barriers, and patrol roads to curb illegal crossings.
These contracts are the first funded through President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasexpress.com ...
Here is some detail from the article:
"The initial 10 contracts include the following:
El Paso 1 Project – $155.1 million to BCCG A Joint Venture, to replace nearly seven miles of old barrier in the Santa Teresa Area of Responsibility, west of El Paso, with new smart wall and nearly 22 miles of system attributes in New Mexico’s El Paso sector.
El Paso 2 Project – $578.9 million to Barnard Spencer Joint Venture, for nearly 23 miles of new smart wall and nearly 81 miles of system attributes in New Mexico’s El Paso sector.
El Paso 3 Project – $850.36 million to BCCG A Joint Venture, for nearly 42 miles of new smart wall, 6 miles of new secondary border wall, and nearly 46 miles of system attributes in Texas’ El Paso sector.
Del Rio 1 Project – $565.05 million to BCCG A Joint Venture, for nearly 22 miles of new smart wall – replacing nearly two miles of old barrier – and nearly 40 miles of waterborne barriers in Texas’ Eagle Pass Area of Responsibility, Del Rio Sector.
Del Rio 2 Project – $364.33 million to BCCG A Joint Venture, for nearly 10 miles of new smart wall, nearly 23 miles of waterborne barrier, and nearly 10 miles of system attributes in Texas’ Eagle Pass Area of Responsibility, Del Rio Sector.
Rio Grande Valley Waterborne Barrier Project – $96.15 million to BCCG A Joint Venture, nearly 17 miles of waterborne barrier in the Rio Grande River, in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley Sector – south of Brownsville, in Cameron County.
Yuma 1 Project – $199.5 million to Barnard Spencer Joint Venture, for nearly 60 miles of system attributes in the Yuma Sector of Arizona and California.
Tucson 1 Project – $606.99 million to BCCG A Joint Venture, for nearly 23 miles of new “secondary border wall” and nearly 66 miles of system attributes in Arizona’s Tucson and Yuma sectors.
El Centro 1 Project – $574 million to Fisher Sand & Gravel Co., for nearly eight miles of new smart wall and nearly 63 miles of system attributes in California’s El Centro and San Diego sectors.
San Diego 1 Project – $483.5 million to BCCG A Joint Venture, for nearly nine miles of new smart wall and nearly 52 miles of “system attributes” in the San Diego sector.
Together, the 10 projects span four border states, with roughly half of the work taking place in Texas sectors.
Those are some damn nice orders for solid American companies!
That list is only a partial list of all the segments in those 10 contracts. All four Southern Border States are getting significant construction of new barrier, and extensive technology upgrades.
In total, although quite large, these ten contracts are but a small minority of the funds allocated in the Big Beautiful Bill. Contracts are going to keep dropping (the money for the whole project has been appropriated, and is on hand).
By the end of this year, we are going to be seeing a beehive of construction activity - prioritized for the most important miles first.
The whole project is scheduled to complete before the end of the Current Trump Administration.
If you have trouble remembering the names of the states
that border on Mexico,
Here is a mnemonic that you CAN’T forget:
C-California
A-Arizona
N-Nevada
T-Texas
Now you CAN’T forget!
Glad to see you posting again on the wall status. Thank you.
Dang it!
C-California
A-Arizona
N-New Mexico
T-Texas
Did you mean N = New Mexico?
I can!
C-Connecticut
A-Alaska
N-New Hampshire
T-Tennesse
i am not sure nevada is in there... texas arizona new mexico california
It is going to be glorious!
Fully funded, up front.
Thank you Speaker Johnson.
We should not need a wall, but it is what it is.
Our government won’t enforce our laws.
Guess which party is the cause of that and which party opposes the wall?
I’m too old, but if I were younger I’d be planing the
legal demise of the Democrat party.
Thank God it’s Arizona, not Utah.
I wish they would have built the wall out of Claymores.
adding lights, cameras, advanced detection systems, steel and waterborne barriers, and patrol roads to curb illegal crossings.
The cynic says “Great...now we can watch and hear them cross...”
Maybe if it were electrified in rotating, random segments...
Thr “N” is New Mexico, not Nevada.
Well, Nevada was once a border state.
BTT
What is Smart Wall?
Does the wall extend the entire length of the Mexican Border? It should.
“What is Smart Wall?”
That is a new term being used during this Administration. During President Trump’s first term, they referred to “Wall System”, to include the barrier(s) and patrol roads; but also a whole suite of lights, cameras, embedded sensors and alarms; that all fed back into a fused Intelligence and monitoring system back at the command posts.
Sensors could detect tunneling activity, sawing of bollards, footfalls in alarmed areas (with software that could discern human from animal), and hear or see drones in the vicinity. Software would alert watch officers on duty at command posts. Cameras could skew and zoom to any detected alarm, to reveal the nature of the threat for responding officers to prepare, and monitor ongoing pursuits or engagements.
There was use of some AI in this detection and monitoring system back in the first term, but due to the rapidly advancing state of the art, I’d guess that new AI capabilities have driven the new term “Smart Wall”.
Lucky Palmer’s company Anduril was providing sensor suites during the first term, that could be towed to a remote area by a pickup truck, raise a mast, and detect activity many miles into Mexico, providing greatly improved lead times for intercepts. Also, during the first term, the US Military took on a formal role in border monitoring and defense, leading to the integration of Military reconnaissance and surveillance assets, that could see much further into Mexico, as well as into the USA, for tracking and pursuit of wall jumpers.
In the Bush Administration, they used the term “electronic wall” or “electronic fence”, to describe such technical augmentation, in areas without physical barriers; but during this Administration, the now funded construction Program includes robust barrier and physical infrastructure, in all but the most rugged and remote terrain, along with robust monitoring of the entire border.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.