While United States Customs and Border Protection is continuing border wall construction in the Rio Grande Valley, the agency indicated that it was the result of Trump-era funding from Congress in 2019.
“The Administration continues to call on Congress to cancel or reappropriate remaining border barrier funding and instead fund smarter border security measures, like border technology and modernization of land ports of entry, that are proven to be more effective at improving safety and security at the border,” Customs and Border Patrol said in a press release last Friday. “Until and unless Congress cancels these funds, the law requires DHS to use the funds consistent with their appropriated purpose.”
In addition, the Yuma Andrade and El Centro Calexico Fence Replacement Projects got the green light from the agency in order to fix barricades that already exist at the southern border, the press release explained.
Although President Biden and other leadership have publicly criticized the concept of a border wall, they have done some under-the-radar continuation in order to fill gaps in vulnerable locations such as Yuma, The Center Square reported in July 2022.
Border crossings have overwhelmed officials in the southwest since the crisis started in early 2021, with over 1.4 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2023 alone, according to the agency's data. The Rio Grande Valley sector, where the “18-foot steel bollard fence panels” will be, has had over 205,000 migrant encounters this fiscal year, and the sector’s river has proved to be a major challenge for federal and state law enforcement.
