Trump Must Build More Than a Mile of Border Wall a Day to Hit 2020 Target

President Donald Trump will have to oversee the construction of more than one mile of border wall per day before the end of 2020 if he wants to fulfill his 2016 campaign promise to see at least 450 miles of border wall built by the end of the year.

On Monday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency announced that 229 miles of the president's long-promised border wall had been built, with roughly 331,000 tons of steel and 485,000 cubic yards of concrete used so far.

The update came just a couple of weeks after the Trump administration celebrated the milestone of 200 miles of border wall being constructed in June.

With 221 miles of border wall still to go and less than six months, or 178 days, left in the year, Trump will have to see just over 1.2 miles of border wall built per day to make good on one of his key campaign pledges.

While Trump has remained steadfast in his pursuit of the construction of a border wall, the expected length of the barrier has changed several times since the president embarked on his 2016 campaign.

Initially, Trump had pledged during his 2016 presidential campaign to build a towering 2,000-mile wall along the southern border that would bring an end to irregular crossings into the U.S.

However, in January of last year, he acknowledged that the border wall would not be the 2,000-mile concrete structure from sea-to-sea that he appeared to have initially envisioned. Instead, he said, the border wall would consist of "steel barriers in high-priority locations."

The president's promise gradually shifted to somewhere between 450 to 500 miles built before the end of 2020. However, he has also at times suggested that the aim would be to see 400 miles of border wall built by the end of 2020.

The 500-mile mark would be hit, he has said, by early next year, if he is re-elected.

According to CBP, there are at least 326 miles of border wall currently "under construction," with another 183 miles "under pre-construction."

Whether or not the Trump administration will be able to meet the president's promise of 450 miles of border wall before the end of 2020 remains to be seen, however.

While it has taken 3.5 years for just over half of the border wall to be built, the government appears to be picking up steam to try to meet the president's goal.

In a statement sent to Newsweek on Tuesday, CBP spokesperson Matthew Dyman said the agency is "confident that we can reach the goal of seeing at least 450 miles of border wall constructed by the end of 2020."

Meanwhile, in a Twitter statement published on Monday, CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan further said he believes "the border wall system is critical to our national security."

"CBP knows that the wall works—making our country safer by helping to prevent drugs and criminals from reaching the homeland," he said, noting that for years, the U.S. Border Patrol "has requested it."

"[Trump] delivered. 229 miles & counting," he said.

Newsweek has contacted the White House for further comment.

This article has been updated with a statement from CBP.