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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have awarded $4.5 billion in new contracts to expand wall construction along the southwest border.
The projects will add roughly 230 miles of new “Smart Wall” barriers and nearly 400 miles of integrated surveillance and detection systems.
The Smart Wall combines steel fencing with patrol roads, lighting, cameras, and advanced sensors designed to improve monitoring and enforcement along key stretches of the U.S.–Mexico border.
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Why It Matters
Unlawful crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped to their lowest level in more than half a century, according to DHS data released Tuesday. The Trump administration has effectively shut down asylum and brought border crossings to historic lows under stricter measures implemented to curb migration.
What To Know
The contracts, awarded between September 15 and 30, are the first funded under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, along with carryover funding from Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations under the Biden administration.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem also issued waivers to expedite construction in select areas, allowing roughly nine miles in the San Diego sector and about 30 miles in New Mexico’s El Paso sector to move forward without certain regulatory requirements.
The 10 contracts awarded cover major construction across the southwest border.
In California, projects in the San Diego and El Centro sectors, worth a combined $1.06 billion, will add about 17 miles of new Smart Wall and more than 100 miles of supporting technology.
In Arizona, contracts in the Yuma and Tucson sectors total roughly $807 million and include 23 miles of new secondary wall and over 120 miles of surveillance and infrastructure upgrades.
Across New Mexico and Texas, the El Paso projects, three in total, account for about $1.58 billion, replacing and adding over 70 miles of new Smart Wall and 149 miles of system attributes.
In the Del Rio Sector, two contracts worth $929 million will add 32 miles of wall and 63 miles of waterborne barriers near Eagle Pass.
A small portion of the new Smart Wall funding traces back to money first approved during the Biden administration. The only segment funded with these leftover dollars is the Rio Grande Valley Waterborne Barrier Project in Texas, a $96 million contract to build 17 miles of floating barrier along the Rio Grande near Brownsville.
A study conducted in 2025 by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that 56% of Americans favor substantially expanding the wall along the U.S.–Mexico border, up from 46% in 2019. Support among Republicans remains strong at 88%, while backing among Democrats, though far lower, has nearly doubled to 27%—up from 14% six years earlier, according to Pew.
What People Are Saying
“For years, Washington talked about border security but failed to deliver. This President changed that,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said in a press release. “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.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, said in a statement: “We have had the most secure border in American history and our end-of-year numbers prove it. We have shattered multiple records this year and once again we have broken a new record with the lowest number of Southwest border apprehensions in 55 years. Under President Trump, we have empowered and supported our law enforcement to do their job and they have delivered.”
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