Trump administration officials say the new Fox 85-mile border wall is expected to rise this year with hundreds of more miles of plans over 2026.
“Our absolute intent is to build as many walls as we need to control our borders,” says Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks. He recently boasted with X “Back in Business” in a photo of one project along the Rio Grande in Texas.
Last week, Fox discovered workers crossing the gap between an existing wall line east of Yuma, Arizona, in a sturdy area in San Diego, known locally as “smuggler gulch.”
CBP released across the border in March, the lowest mark ever recorded
“Operational management is what we’re trying to achieve,” said Jeffrey Starnaker, chief of the Border Patrol Sector in San Diego, on Tuesday. “We are trying to detect all people and everything that have illegally crossed the border, and we have 100% situational awareness of what is happening in our area of responsibility.”
Other planned projects this year include Jacamba, California. The project saw thousands of migrants (many of China) claiming exile across the rugged landscape during the Biden administration. Most of them were released into the country to await further proceedings. The location and many other locations along the border have become much quieter than in recent years.
Trump administration officials are planning to build a new 85-mile border wall this year alone. (AP photo/Eugene Garcia, file)
In October, the San Diego sector averaged 451 illegal intersections each day. In March, that average daily number fell to 39 under President Trump.
“If there is a law that is not in force, or if there is an administration like the Biden administration that refuses to allow the Border Patrol to actually enforce the law and provide results, the wall won’t work on its own,” Banks told Fox. “We’ve acquired a border that’s more under control than ever before, but our goal is operational control and we won’t stop until we get there.”
Immigration borders plummet under Trump. Biden’s record high
On that front, Banks hopes to expand the use of a large blocking buoy in the middle of the Rio Grande and backstop it with a wall to the coastline. This is a multi-tier security zone that exists in other parts of the border. “All you have is a two-tier system,” Banks says.
“So you have a buoy system in the rivers of Texas. If you pass those buoys and reach the shore, you’ll still have an actual boundary wall system.”
The crew have already begun gaps in gaps at the lines of existing boundary walls in some of the San Diego area known as “Smuggler Gulch.” (Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)
Border Patrol officials want to add up to nearly 1,000 miles of additional barriers over the coming years, if Congress is funded. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) introduced a bill in January that allocated $25 billion for that purpose.
In the meantime, crews continue to block gaps like smuggler Gulch.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“We’ve caught everyone crossing and we know what’s going on in our field of responsibility,” Starnaker said as the bulldozer behind him paved the way for the next wall panel to enter the ground.
William La Jeunesse joined Fox News Channel (FNC) in March 1998 and is currently a senior national correspondent.
Source link
