The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that 10 new construction grants have been approved, totaling an estimated $4.5 billion. The grants will contribute to the addition of hundreds of miles of Smart Wall.
According to CBP, the Smart Wall is a border security system that utilizes “steel barriers, waterborne barriers, patrol roads, lights, cameras, and advanced detection technology to give Border Patrol agents the best tools in the world to stop illegal traffic.” The projects will add 230 miles of Smart Wall and nearly 400 miles of new technology.
A Smart Wall FAQ page says the wall’s goal is to “gain operational control of the border.” The barriers “are intended to provide persistent impedance and denial to illegal cross-border activity,” while “complementary investments in roads, lighting and technology address domain awareness and access and mobility requirements of Border Patrol agents.”
The contracts will affect the border areas of San Diego, El Centro, Yuma, Tucson, El Paso, Del Rio, and the Rio Grande Valley.
“For years, Washington talked about border security but failed to deliver. This President changed that,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said in a statement. “The Smart Wall means more miles of barriers, more technology, and more capability for our agents on the ground. This is how you take control of the border.”
Earlier this year, the Trump administration secured border wall materials sent to an auction house under the Biden administration.
Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Rep. Roger Wicker (R-MS), said at the time, “Rather than associate with any aspect of President Biden’s weak border policies, GovPlanet has chosen to put the American people first and return border wall construction materials so they can finally be used to secure our border.”
