The Trump administration has awarded five brand new contracts to continue building a high-tech “Smart Wall” along the southern border the U.S. shares with Mexico in Texas and Arizona. The new contracts will bring the cost of building the wall to a total of $8 billion. According to new data, when the border wall is finally finished, it will include 1,418 miles of what’s being called “Primary Smart Wall,” along with 536 miles of a “Waterborne Barrier System,” and 708 miles of “Secondary Border Wall.”
A total of 536 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border that is currently without any barrier at all will now be covered by state-of-the-art detection technology “due to unfavorable terrain or remoteness of location,” according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The CBP is also going to be setting up 549 miles of tech in locations that already have barriers.
“Securing our border is key to protecting our country, keeping our communities safe, and making sure our immigration system works the way it should. A border wall with the right technology – a Smart Wall – is an important tool to stop illegal activity and to help agents do their job, which is critical in keeping America safe,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said, according to Fox News.
The report then reveals that the Smart Wall will include a steel bollard wall, special detection technology, cameras, lights, and in some instances, waterborne barriers for extra protection. The new contracts will cost $3.3 billion. Funding for the project was included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act spending package.
Another part of the project will include adding 97 miles to the main border wall system, 19 miles of secondary border and 66 miles of waterborne barrier system. The five contracts will also install 149 miles of detection technology around pre-existing border structures where the Smart Wall isn’t complete.
Along with the new contracts, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has issued nine waivers to put construction of the structures on the fast-track in several sectors. The waivers were published over the course of several months, beginning in October, November, and now December.
As expected, not everyone is thrilled about the new construction work happening along the southern border. Margarita Araiza, a board member for the Rio Grande International Study Center, a nonprofit organization, wrote a Facebook post saying, “We have a terrible challenge now facing our community and that is the border wall that is being projected for this community. Nobody wants to live behind the Berlin Wall. It would be a travesty to our ancestors and to our descendants … We cannot allow this to happen in our backyard.”
"*" indicates required fields
According to MSN, Araiza is now encouraging members of the community to get in contact with local and state representatives to whine about the border wall construction. The report also revealed that Fisher Sand & Gravel Company won the most lucrative contracts, pulling in a total of $2.2 billion. Back in 2020, the company was the first to secure a contract exceeding a billion dollars after it was hired to install 42 miles of border wall through the state of Arizona.
Featured image: screenshot from embedded video