The Pentagon canceled border wall projects that the Trump administration had funded with $10.5 billion it diverted from other federal departments on the basis that the southern border was experiencing a national emergency.
“Consistent with the President’s proclamation, the Department of Defense is proceeding with canceling all border barrier construction projects paid for with funds originally intended for other military missions and functions, such as schools for military children, overseas military construction projects in partner nations, and the National Guard and Reserve equipment account,” said Jamal Brown, deputy spokesman at the Pentagon.
Brown said the military has already started rescinding the funding and is working with other agencies involved in the construction, including its Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection.
The Pentagon did not reveal how much money has not been spent but said the remaining amount will go toward previously planned construction projects and that they will start as soon as possible. A Washington Examiner analysis of projects funded by the Pentagon revealed most of it has been spent on projects completed before Jan. 20.
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“Today’s action reflects this administration’s continued commitment to defending our nation and supporting our service members and their families,” Brown said.
The Trump administration completed 450 miles of slatted border fence in all four southern border states, though much of it replaced shorter fences or was secondary fencing that ran parallel with the main wall. On Jan. 20, President Joe Biden signed an executive order halting all border wall system construction projects on the 1,950-mile southern border.
The $4 billion in funding that Congress approved for the wall and $10.5 billion that former President Donald Trump diverted from other federal department budgets was for the physical wall but was also slotted for the installation of roads to replace dirt paths, lighting along the entire wall, and fiber-optic sensors underground.
Beyond the 450 miles of wall installed under Trump, more than 300 more were going up or about to be installed. The overseeing federal agency, CBP, told construction crews nationwide to suspend operations by Jan. 27.
Border wall construction projects took off in the 1990s, when then-President Bill Clinton approved congressional funding to hire more Border Patrol agents and install infrastructure on the border. A decade later, during the George W. Bush administration, Congress approved the Secure Fence Act, which funded more than 650 miles of barrier. Half of those 650 miles of barrier were short fences just tall enough to block vehicles from driving across rural parts of the border, while the other half was tall enough to prevent people from illegally walking over. Border wall projects continued, albeit at far slower rates, under the Obama administration.
The Trump administration began a lengthy prototype phase in 2017 to test out four concrete and four nonconcrete barriers. Elements of the eight designs were incorporated into the final design. The wall that CBP decided to build ranges from 18 to 30 feet above the ground and is rooted in a concrete bed to keep it stable and to prevent shallow tunnels. It is slatted, which Border Patrol agents preferred because it allows them to see what is going on beyond the barrier, but the beams are close enough that people cannot pass through it.
Trump entered office with a Republican House and Senate, yet failed to acquire the billions of dollars in funding needed for the project. In President Barack Obama’s final appropriations year, Congress made available $341 million for 40 miles of replacement wall in San Diego and El Centro, California, and El Paso, Texas, all of which have been completed. The three regions are among nine that the Border Patrol divides the border by.
In fiscal 2018, the White House quadrupled its wall funding. Congress gave Trump $1.375 billion for 78 miles, but there was a catch: Congress decided how the administration could spend the money. Lawmakers approved it for new and replacement wall in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, various regions of California, and Yuma, Arizona.
Trump then asked for $18 billion in late 2018 but was denied, prompting a 35-day government shutdown over his refusal to accept a far lower amount of funding. Unsuccessful, Trump declared a national emergency at the border, which allowed him to take more than $10.5 billion in 2019 and 2020 from funding that Congress had appropriated for other departments. He received $1.375 billion from Congress in 2019 and redirected $601 million from the Treasury Forfeiture Fund for new wall in the Rio Grande Valley.
The remaining $9.9 billion was taken from the Pentagon — $6.3 billion in counternarcotics funds and $3.6 billion in military construction funds. The military construction money went toward a 175-mile portion of primary and secondary fence in San Diego, El Centro, Yuma, El Paso, and Laredo, Texas, of which 86 miles is finished.
The counternarcotics money went toward two projects. The first was replacing 129 miles of border wall in El Paso, Tucson, and El Centro, which have been completed. The second project went to new and replacement primary and secondary walls in all four border states — 118 miles of the 162-mile project were completed as of January.
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Congress gave CBP another $1.375 billion in 2020 for new wall near Laredo. Construction has not started and is pending until the land can be acquired.
